Desert Rose
by Manwaithiel
Summary: [COMPLETE] The final showdown between Takara and Orochimaru. Who will lose, who will die, and who will continue blooming as the Sand's Desert Rose?
1. A Strange Friendship

Sakura laid the thick tome she had been studying on her desk and rubbed her sore eyes, glancing at the clock. She had been reading up on medical jutsus for three hours already. It wasn't exactly uncommon for the medic-nin. There was not a lot that held her interest anymore except studying and training. Everything that she had was bent to achieve one goal - to forget about Uchiha Sasuke.

It had been four years. Exactly one year ago that day, Orochimaru had overtaken Sasuke's body. Itachi had been killed by his power-hungry brother, but Sasuke was essentially gone. Orochimaru was now running rampant, the Sharingan in his possession and the Uchiha genius's advanced abilites and potential. He was the most dangerous criminal alive.

And Haruno Sakura simply wanted to forget that he had ever existed. If she ever had to kill him, it might be even better as he would never be a thorn in her side again.

She had become, much to the disappointment of Naruto, a great deal like the deceased Uchiha. She did nothing but train to become stronger or more knowledgeable. If she was not studying and practicing healing arts with Tsunade-sama, she was studying offensive and defensive jutsus (along with some eyesight enhancement) from Kakashi, illusion techniques from Hyuuga Hiashi, or hand-to-hand combat from Gai. She had a two hour session with one of her teachers once a day in a rotating order. Sakura's senseis were impressed with her hard work and massive improvement as a shinobi. Using her intellect and cleverness, she caught on to everything quickly, practicing some jutsus for hours until she had them perfectly mastered. Two years after Sasuke had left, she had been swiftly promoted to Chunin.

It was now being considered that she be promoted to Jounin.

It was no secret that Haruno Sakura was one of the most stellar ninja in Konohagakure. Tsunade was fast running out of things to teach her in the medical arts. Her combat training had become advanced enough that her senseis would help Sakura practice by battling her themselves...and having a very hard time with it. No one had expected that peaceful, rather unskilled Sakura would grow so quickly. But it came at a great price to the girl. She took no interest in anything or anybody else if it had nothing to do with her training. She mildly tolerated Naruto and Rock Lee because they had always been kind to her and Naruto was her teammate. Aside from them however, she found no real comfort in anything except training to become stronger and stronger. It was indeed a subconcious act of trying to please her former beloved despite the fact that he was gone.

There was but one real friendship that Sakura had picked up somehow. Gaara, who visited Konoha frequently, had become a close confidante through a series of rather random and insignificant events. He would often stop by her apartment telling her this or that or simply sitting with her, sipping tea and not saying anything at all. It was not uncommon for Gaara to enter silently and leave silently without having said a word to Sakura.

It was probably the strangest relationship with another human being that Sakura had ever had. And nothing about that bothered her or even held her attention.

Sakura glanced out her window to see a few small academy students playing in the street outside her apartment. They bounced a ball around, some of them using it to practice a new basic combat jutsu they were learning in school.

_They know nothing of a shinobi's true fate. They know nothing of the pain they will one day bear. To them it is all a game...as much as that ball they're bouncing around to "train" with is a game._

The jade eyes turned away from the picture of innocence and youth and focused on her stark bedroom. A bed to sleep on, a desk to study with, and enough floor space to allow for some stretching exercises and warm-up taijutsu. Not that she hadn't broken her lamp a thousand times with a kick or punch or something.

Sakura looked back at her clock. Quarter to three. She had a lesson with the Hyuuga clan head in fifteen minutes. Hiashi had just finished teaching her how to defend herself against sound genjutsu, especially with the acousticaly perfected bells, and was now showing Sakura how to perform such a jutsu herself. As usual she was quickly catching on to how to do so and had already landed Hiashi into a few basic illusions with bells on strings.

Making her way to the Hyuuga household, Sakura pondered the percise technique she needed to make the bells work accordingly. If she performed the jutsu wrong, it would have no effect or worse, would throw her into the illusion instead. Timing was everything.

_By the end of the day I will perfect that technique._

**later**

Sakura was leaving the Hyuuga house and heading back towards her own home. As she had promised herself, she had mastered this genjutsu and had caught Hiashi off guard enough times for him to call their session off a half hour early. He gave her a book about how to use instruments like chimes and flutes to create more powerful illusions and told her to have it read by their next session.

She would probably have it done within a few hours tonight. Memorized by tomorrow evening.

Sakura unlocked her door and stepped inside. She immediately went to her kitchen and began to heat up noodles with a blend of seasonings that she didn't really pay attention to. Food was not exactly an important factor in her life. Sakura ate what she cooked and it might have tasted horrid for all she cared. The seasoning was a mere distraction and something for her to watch fall into her pot as she prepared to eat.

Everything in her life was set to be a distraction from what she could never have.

Dumping the contents of her pot into a large bowl, Sakura relocated herself to an uncomfortable couch and ate silently, listening to a breeze blow in through her open windows. It was rather soothing and the only thing that she really _liked_; such things were rarities these days.

Finishing off her dinner, Sakura sat down with her book of musical illusions and began to read eagerly. She absorbed the facts like a sponge, already thinking through ways in which to implement what she was learning. As she predicted, she finished the volume by seven-thirty.

It was far too early to go to sleep and Sakura was not one to be idle. She began to do chakra building techniques to increase her stamina and chakra flexibility. She walked up her walls and on her ceilings and with her hands. The kunoichi, who had always had terrific chakra control, had reached a level that astounded her Jounin senseis. Her chakra levels and control rivaled theirs and were certainly the best out of all the Chunins.

There was a creak of a door opening and Sakura turned to see Gaara walking in, closing the door behind him. He sat on her said uncomfortable couch and watched as she continued to walk about her ceiling as if she were strolling the streets of Konoha. Gaara never interrupted a training session of the kunoichi's. He simply sat there and waited for her to finish.

Sakura jumped off her ceiling (a difficult feat I can tell you) and faced Gaara. She smiled gently and walked into her kitchen.

"Temari looked upset today." It would not be a silent passing of time tonight.

"Shikamaru had to cancel their dinner date to head off on a mission on very short notice. Temari was being very petty about it."

Sakura said nothing. Gaara never really cared if she answered him or not. There was something refreshing about knowing that someone was not just responding because they felt they had to, but because it was necessary. It was simply something he enjoyed in Sakura.

The teapot hissed and within a few minutes, the two were on the balcony, sipping tea and looking at a full moon. Gaara, now free of the Shukaku, thought the moon a very beautiful object now and was happy to watch it for an hour or two.

"Hiashi says you're amazing."

"Hiashi is a teacher. He's supposed to say those things."

"The Hyuuga clan head is not going to exaggerate."

He had a point. Silence reigned again. Tea was finished and the tea things moved back to the kitchen. The two remained on the balcony, staring up at a lovely night sky.

"I'm getting restless."

Gaara turned his attention to his friend. "About what?"

Sakura met his eyes and they softened into a more vulnerable sheen, something she _never_ allowed except with Gaara. "My training. My work. It's getting boring. I'm not sure what I planned to do with my prowess, it was orignially just an escape. But I know now that I need to do something or I'm going to go crazy."

The fact that Sakura had spoken more than three sentences meant that she felt strongly about this particular topic of conversation. Gaara was all ears. "What do you want to do with it?"

"Beat something up."

Gaara chuckled, another rarity. "Well there were these little kids playing ball today and it seemed they could use a little more combat experience."

"Oh shut up, Gaara." Her tone was not dislike. It was slight amusement accompanied by annoyance that he was not being serious.

"You know, I could make you call me Kazekage-sama."

"And I could make a slug slime your face," retorted Sakura, referring to a summoning technique she had picked up from Tsunade.

They gave each other looks as if they were both exasperated with the other's stupidity. They also knew each other well enough to know it was all an act.

"Sakura..."

The kunoichi tilted her head questioningly at the sand-nin.

"Do you still love him?"

Sakura's eyes darkened and she turned back to look at the stars. Her fists were clenched. "I told you not to talk about him."

"But you need to."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm your friend."

"Yeah, right."

"Sakura-"

"Why do you want to know!"

There was quiet for a moment before Gaara continued. "If you do, you should stop."

"Gaara-"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it?"

Dead quiet. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Finally, Sakura sighed.

"I can forget him. It doesn't mean my feelings have changed at all."

"They should." With that, Gaara rose and headed for the door. Slipping out, he called back that he would be gone to Suna for a few days and didn't know when he'd be back. Sakura did not respond. Gaara shut the door and Sakura listened as his footsteps faded away.

_I hate it when he does that,_ thought Sakura.


	2. The Notebook

"I'm not doing it."

Sakura stared down Tsunade who looked back at her, shocked at her audacity.

"Sakura, this is a mission-"

"I don't care. I'm not going anywhere near Orochimaru."

"Sakura, I'm not _asking_ you to do this. I'm ordering you. This is your mission."

"Tsunade-sama, how can ask this of me? You know I hate..._him_. You know I do all of this training to forget him, not get near him! I don't want anything to do with the dead Uchiha!" Tsunade arched her right brow.

"I know that you lie when you say you hate him."

Sakura's blood ran cold. "Tsunade-sama..."

"You will start tomorrow morning. Skip your training sessions today, you must prepare. Dismissed!"

Sakura opened her mouth as if to protest further, but snapped it shut, thinking better of it. Nothing would come of any more begging or pleading.

Back in her apartment, Sakura stood in the door and simply looked wistfully at her plain living quarters. With a sudden burst of energy, she flung herself on her couch, punching the stiff cushion. _Darn him...darn you Orochimaru...I despise you. And now I have to go and spy on you...I'd rather just kill you...but I'm forbidden to do that...lucky you..._

Sakura was within these wonderful reflections when a footstep sounded on the threshold of her open door. Gaara, walking in as usual, stopped short when he saw the look on Sakura's face.

Gaara did not waste his time with any "what happened" statements but simply walked past her and sat on her porch. She would tell him in due time. Prying would just irritate her and it looked like that was the last thing she wanted at the moment.

The kunoichi remained on her couch for ten minutes or so before getting up and joining Gaara on the porch. The sun was about to set. It had been three days since Gaara had been here last time.

"Reconnaissance mission."

Gaara turned his head to look at her. He gazed at her emerald eyes which were shining, not with tears, but with intensity. "Against Orochimaru." he finished.

Sakura continued to stare out to the horizon. This wasn't fair. Any other mission would have suited her just fine, given the choice...which she hadn't been given.

"Come back alive."

The girl turned to stare at her friend.

"You heard me."

"It's just a reconnaissance."

"You still love him. And it's still his body. People do stupid things for the ones they love."

"He's dead. And how would _you_ know?"

"They just do..."

A quiet settled over the two of them. The stars were beginning to poke through the dusky sky. Several minutes were beginning to feel like several hours. It was the first time that had ever bothered them.

"You've never been in love."

"How do you know _that_, Sakura?"

Sakura bit her lip. He said her name with such infinite tenderness and for the first time, a look of sadness reigned when he uttered it. "I'm sorry."

"You should be."

It was certainly the first time he said something like _that_ to her. Sakura turned to see Gaara's face and was shocked to see him staring at her with shining eyes and a single drop of water sliding down the cheek.

"Is it raining...?" she asked stupidly, looking to the clear sky.

"Sakura, look at me."

The girl slowly turned her gaze back to the boy. His face was emotionless once again, except for a gleam in his eye that she had never seen before. "I know what love is. And if you go on this mission you might do something dumb because you love him, despite the fact that he's dead. And if you think I'd suffer your death or injury without emotion, you must not know me at all." Gaara got up and headed for the door.

"What are you saying, Gaara?"

The boy turned to face the kunoichi. Her eyes were questioning.

"Nothing."

With that, he was gone.

**next morning**

Sakura woke up, her eyes heavy and bloodshot. _What a terrific start to a mission_, she thought sarcastically. She had stayed up late, sleepless though tired. Darned Gaara and his darned riddle like statements. Surely he couldn't...love her. Could he?

It didn't matter.

Hoisting a pack on, Sakura locked her apartment and began to head towards the Konoha gate. The guards looked up, smiled at her, then went back to reading log books, penciling in her name without even questioning her. She was well-known to them.

Sakura trudged through forests and fields for several days. Nothing particularly interesting happened during the first few days of her travel. She walked by day, slept by night, all the while letting her hatred of Orochimaru grow to its peak. This was the last thing she wanted to be doing at any rate.

One night, as the kunoichi was leaning against a tree she grew curious about one thing. Tsunade had dropped some books into her pack before she had left. The Hokage had told her it was for her studies if she had any time while she was traveling. Sakura had found that odd. Tsunade had never asked her to bring books with her on a mission, especially one so dangerous. She had nearly laughed when Tsunade had said she might have down time. It was a mission to Orochimaru's lair for goodness sake! She wasn't going to be reading about the wonders of anti-bacterial fungi while she was there!

Opening her pack, Sakura began to leaf through some of them. They were all rather boring, but that wasn't what was beginning to trouble her. All of them were medicinal arts that she had already studied. What did she need with these?

A small notebook, dusty and obviously very old, fell out of the stack and caught the girl's attention. Picking it up, she noticed there was a piece of loose paper sticking out of the middle of it. Sakura immediately flipped to that part of the notebook...and nearly screamed in surprise.

There were drawings, grotesque ones at that, of the human body, along with the names of certain jutsus that appeared to relate to replacing body parts. All of it was handwritten, but Sakura was surprised to see that none of it was Tsunade's handwriting. It was less elegant and more blockish and the letters were smaller. It was most certainly not a woman's writing.

Sakura had almost forgotten about the piece of paper that had fallen out. She quickly picked it up and opened it. Inside was a note, this time it was most certainly from Tsunade.

_Sakura,_

_This notebook used to belong to Orochimaru. It is the information he recorded during the latest phases of his study for his immortality technique. Your mission, in case you have not already figured it out, has nothing to do with reconnassiance. It is actually a rescue mission. Flip to the last page of the notebook and I think that everything will become clear. The other books will help you achieve your goal. Burn this paper as soon as you have finished reading it. Don't fail me, Sakura._

_Tsunade_

Sakura read and re-read the letter before building a fire and burning it to ash. The words were etched into her brain. _Flip to the last page..._ and Sakura did so. It contained but a small note in hastily scribbled text that was just barely legible. Sakura began to read it.

The notebook fell from the stunned kunoichi's hands. _No...it can't be..._


	3. Dueling MedicNins

Sakura had no idea how long she had been sitting there. Seconds? Minutes? Days? Years?

She didn't really care either.

The wind played with the leaves of the notebook, flipping them back and forth. The nin's tired eyes followed their small movements with a glossy stare. Her face was a complete blank.

It couldn't be possible. It shouldn't be possible. This had to be some colossal joke.

_"After all this time, you're still annoying."_ Her hands curled into fists.

_Why should I help him? He doesn't deserve anything from any of us._

The jade eyes were blazing with rage. Her whole being shook and she tried not to sob. _Tsunade, how could you?_

**Suna**

Gaara sat on the roof of his house, deep in thought. Temari had been whining all day about Shikamaru not coming back soon enough. He was quite glad when she finally decided to go to bed. He had more important things to worry about.

_Her mission was too random._

Why, all of the sudden, did the Hokage wish for information on Orochimaru? She knew where he was, what he must be planning...to destroy everything basically. He wanted power, identity, esteem, and immortality. That had always been very clear from the beginning.

He had noticed while in Konoha, that no other follow-up missions had been scheduled. No offensive plans or even any more covert operations like Sakura's. Hers appeared to be the only one to remotely deal with Orochimaru.

_Maybe it's because he's biding his time and Tsunade-sama is worried. _But why then was Sakura the only one going? It was a highly dangerous mission, and Tsunade could have picked someone other than the kunoichi. There were still more skilled nins than her in Konoha at Tsunade's disposal.

_Except in medical arts._

Gaara started. Sakura _was_ the most skilled, except for the Fifth, in the healing arts. But what did that have to do with Orochimaru...?

He had no idea.

**back to Sakura**

Sakura was leafing through the notebook. Her anger had cooled to a state of indifference. This was her mission after all, it was what she had been ordered to do. The girl allowed the most shocking of its notes to echo through her head.

_After a body is switched, it appears that it takes roughly two years for the switch to be permanent. Up until that time, the process can be reversed...only at great cost to the nin performing a reversal jutsu. The jutsu is life-threatening. I will probably never attempt to use it..._

And that is where Orochimaru's scribbling had ended. Sakura was now glancing at the rest of his notes, appalled by what she saw. Obviously, no body was sacred to the deranged criminal. He had used roughly 200 bodies - not necessarily corpses - to perfect his technique.

Sakura glanced over at the stack of books. All of them had to do with body parts in particular. There was also a book, more like a very thin pamphlet, regarding soul sealings, very similar to Sarutobi's dying jutsu. The girl leaned aginst the tree trunk and closed her eyes, letting her clever mind click away.

Obviously it would take a combination of extracting the soul and reclaiming the body. If these notes were correct, Sasuke's soul was still buried within his own body, though slowly being eaten alive. When the soul was completely gone, Orochimaru's would take permanent dominance. The trick would be to remove Orochimaru's soul, without damaging either Sasuke's soul or body.

It was probably the most suicidal surgery she would ever have to perform. Extracting a soul without damage to the body was nearly impossible. The technique that the Third had used against Orochimaru was _meant_ to hurt the body. So hers would be a much more delicate and tentative process.

In order for this to be successful, she concluded, she would have to extract Orochimaru's soul and pray that Sasuke's would _immediately_ begin to repossess his own body. Assuming, of course, that there was still enough of it left to keep him alive.

The chances were very, _very_ slim.

There was just one additional problem...where was she to seal Orochimaru's soul? Sakura took a deep breath. There was, after all, only one answer. It would have be sealed with her.

This mission was looking less and less appealing.

Several hours went by as Sakura began to look through the heavy texts. She was already formulating the surgical process in her mind, attempting to figure out what would need to be done first and last. Sakura's intelligence was, after all, sharp as a tack. That was probably why Tsunade had sent her on this mission to begin with.

Dawn began to creep over the tops of the trees. She had not slept a wink; and felt far more exhausted than she already had. Yawning, Sakura stood up and stretched herself out, she was already thinking of yet another complication to this mission. How in the world was she going to get close enough to Orochimaru and somehow make him sit still long enough for this process? It would take several hours, maybe even a day or so, before she could finish it. The surgery would need to be done flawlessly for success. But Orochimaru was most certainly not going to be cooperative about it.

"Tsuande-sama, this is impossible," she said aloud.

Sakura slumped against the tree again, slipping to the ground. She began gathering the books back into her pack and jumping to the canopy of the forest to have a look around. All seemed clear, the sun was bright and a gentle breeze was blowing, playing with her pink hair. Her green eyes, emotionless as usual, scanned the area with an ever suspicious gleam to them. She trusted nothing.

A flash caught her eye, to her far left. Sakura jerked her head towards that direction and stared. Hard.

Nothing.

But there had most certainly been something there. The kunoichi removed a kunai from her pouch and held it, her blood pounding in her ears.

She was being followed. The flash had looked similar to a lens refraction of the sunlight. It was accidental, whatever it was, because whoever was following her had been very stealthy up until that point.

An abnormal rustle of leaves, directly behind her back, sent Sakura spinning around on the branch. She was now turning her head in all directions, trying to catch sight of her pursuer.

Her hair stood on end.

_Someone's behind me..._

"It's been awhile, Sakura-san," a mocking voice rang out.

With an instant twist of the foot, Sakura faced the speaker. She surveyed him with apparent disinterest.

"We were wondering how long it would take Tsunade-sama to send her clever apprentice to defeat Orochimaru-sama. Or to try that is."

Sakura simply sat there, her facial expression akin to someone observing an annoying insect.

This unsettled her aggressor.

"You're certainly not the same kunoichi from four years ago..." he muttered.

Sakura blinked. Suddenly, she was behind the man, her kunai to his neck.

"You're a bother."

Kabuto laughed. "You're most certainly stronger. And brighter. The rumors don't exaggerate, as gossip so often does."

"Your attempt at flattery is repulsive."

"You still haven't killed me."

"Why would I do that?" Suddenly Sakura kicked the clone, popping it, and in an instant had whipped around to slash her kunai towards the original's neck. Kabuto had bounced to the next tree just in time.

Kabuto smiled. "You _are_ a clever girl, aren't you? And a pretty one at that." Sakura glared at him. "If I were Sasuke-kun, I don't think I would have left a kunoichi like you behind."

Sakura clenched her jaw. "Shut up."

The man chuckled. "Come, come now, Sakura-san. It was a compliment, a well paid one too. It certainly doesn't merit killing me -"

With a spring, Sakura had lept towards the medic-nin her chakra gathering to her fingertips. She would paralyze him, then she would kill him. He was in her way. In a flash, she had smashed her hand into his abdomen, sending chakra through his body. He cried out and fell to the forest floor with a heavy thump; her attack had taken him by surprise. Sakura was beside him instantly, her hands itching to make the fatal blow.

Suddenly, Kabuto's face became Sasuke's. Sakura hesitated for a split second, then continued her attack. But it was too late. That fraction of time had given Kabuto the lull he needed to get up and seize the girl's neck, pushing her to the ground.

"You still have feelings for Sasuke-kun then." He shot chakra through his fingertips into her neck.

Pain wrenched through her head and shoulders and Sakura let out a scream, feeling her body go limp.

Kabuto picked her up, having the audacity to hold her bridal style, and whispered menacingly in her ear.

"Sasuke-kun screamed just like that when my master killed him." His eyes were filled with evil passion.

He would have done well not to provoke her. She punched him square on the jaw, sending him reeling. Luckily for him, Sakura faded out of conciousness due to the blow on her neck, and Kabuto retained his prize.

"Orochimaru-sama is going to be thrilled," he said, grinning evily.

**Author's Note:**

**Mwhahahahahaha Angst, Angst, Angst...aaaahahahahahahahahaa...**

**blinks Ahem...**

**I would like to thank my darling reviewers for their support.**

**NeedsBlueHair**

**SasukesoOoFlower**

**Gaara's desert blossom**

**Puppyeye1**

**slaymyheart**

**I would like to remind everyone that my stories are full of heartbreak, pain, suffering, death, etc etc etc. If you really REALLY like happy endings then you'll really REALLY hate my stories. **

**Just wanted to make sure you knew that!**

**A bientot**

**Manwaithiel**


	4. The First Tragedy

Tsunade folded her hands, listening to the patter of a light drizzle on her office windows. The sound was rather soothing normally, but nothing was able to calm the Hokage's frazzled mind.

She had just sent her most precious apprentice on the most dangerous mission of her life, all based around someone that Sakura wanted to hate. She had probably opened the notebook by now, had read the letter, and had learned what her mission truly was.

Tsunade felt like a traitor.

The rain had grown steadily heavier and the once soft drizzle had transformed into a full-fledged thunderstorm. Not that it was distracting the Fifth from her worries in the least.

The office door banged open and Shizune ran in. "Tsunade-sama! I have terrible news..."

**Suna**

Temari paced back and forth. _He promised to visit today...he should have returned from his mission yesterday._ The girl sat on her front stoop, aware that her little brother was watching her every move with what she thought was increasing impatience.

"Stop staring at me if it bothers you!"

Gaara said nothing.

Temari groaned and faced him. "If you only want to think ill of me -"

"It's okay to be worried."

The girl's blank countenance communicated her surprise.

"It's okay to wonder about the ones you love."

"I just wish he would send word or something if he can't come. I'm so anxious..."

"Shikamaru is right. You talk too much."

There was no malice in his voice, or even annoyance. The siblings remained silent for roughly fifteen minutes before a figure could be seen sprinting towards them in the distance.

"Shikamaru...?" Temari rose, her voice filled with expectance.

It became clear that the figure was not Shikamaru. As he drew closer, however, one could see he was indeed from Konoha. On spotting the Kazekage, he halted to catch his breath.

"Speak."

"I have a message for Temari, Kazekage-sama."

"Then give it."

The runner turned to face the apprehensive kunoichi. "Temari-san...Shikamaru came back from his mission yesterday. But he was badly wounded and is in critical condition. The Hokage is working on him right now..." the messenger trailed off as he saw the look on Temari's face.

Her eyes had grown larger as the man had talked. As he had grown silent, tears welled in her big eyes and threatened to spill over. Gaara stepped in front of his sister.

"That will do. Please leave us. Have a safe journey."

The man bowed, gave one sympathetic glance to Temari and retraced his steps.

"You can cry, Temari."

It was certainly too late for his blessing on that particular action. The tears were running down her cheeks in quickening intervals. Gaara stood next to his sister, letting her weep. When she fell to her knees shaking, however, Gaara waxed slightly cross.

"Get up, Temari."

Temari did not respond.

"Get _up_, Temari."

The girl rose reluctantly, knowing the Kazekage held no deep-seated anger at her show of weakness.

"The lazy idiot will need a woman stronger than _that_ to help him recover."

"He's not a lazy idiot."

"You've called him that yourself. And as long as I'm living, my strong-as-steel sister is not going to shake like a child over a man."

"Gaara..."

"Trust me as your brother."

The two became very quiet. Then, "You cry out in your sleep, Gaara..."

"Which is why I let you cry unharrassed."

Temari rubbed her sore eyes and turned to walk into their home.

"Go to him tomorrow."

"I wasn't waiting for _your_ permission."

"You would have had to get it anyway."

He was right...as always. Temari walked to her bedroom and began to pack mournfully.

That night was full of restless slumberers in the Kazekage's mansion. While Kankuro slept easily, Temari sobbed until her pillow was wet before she drifted away. At least her sleep was dreamless. The youngest of the three, though not nearly as loud, cried out in visions of pink hair and green, emotionless eyes.

**Konoha**

The Hokage looked a mess. Her hair was standing out everywhere and the bags under her eyes were growing larger by the second. Tsunade was frantically trying to treat Shikamaru's kidney rupture.

_He can't die...his parents...what would I tell his parents...Concentrate, Tsuande! Stop thinking about everything and concentrate!_

The scene was grotesquely familiar. _Dan died like this...but I'll save this boy...I will save this boy!_

Her fingertips were literally burning from the amount of chakra she was pushing through them. Everything in her was bent on stopping his bleeding.

She never saw the frayed artery from a neck injury in her preliminary examination, so anxious as she was about the kidneys.

With a sudden snap that no one saw coming, the artery gave out and Shikamaru began to cough up blood. Shizune sprang to it immediately, trying to stop the bleeding and repair the artery.

She was one second too late.

Shikamaru had lost too much blood. His brain was lacking oxygen and at this rate, it seemed he would be brain dead within five minutes. Tsunade began to cry, her tears mixing with the nin's flesh. _No...he can't! I won't let him do this!_ Suddenly she felt a hand grab her wrist. It took her a few moments to realize it was Shikamaru's.

"Stop...Tsunade-sama."

"I can't! You'll die."

"I'm already dead."

"I can save you, Shikamaru! Just hold still and -"

"It's over. I just...want to see..."

"She's on her way, she started out this morning."

"Will she..." Shikamaru began to cough heavily again as the blood began to clot in his throat. He shook his head and continued with renewed determination. "No..I won't...die yet. I'll wait for her. Keep me alive until she comes." Every word he said brought on more bleeding and coughing. Every sentence was gasped out by sheer will of mind.

"Shut up, Shikamaru! You're making the bleeding worse."

Shikamaru was quiet, waiting for Temari. The door of his hospital room banged open and a swoosh of blond hair bounded in...and froze.

The boy was quite a bloody mess. The sight froze the kunoichi in her tracks. Luckily, the Kazekage had come along and had pushed her towards him from behind.

"Be strong, Temari."

Snapping out of her reverie, Temari raced to the boy's bed, grasping him in her arms, tears rolling down her cheeks, a sob escaped loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You can't do this to me, Shikamaru."

"I didn't ask for it."

"Don't be sarcastic...just this once."

"Temari..."

She pulled away from him to look into his face.

"I will survive the night," he gasped. "We'll spend it together, so that I can tell you how much..." his eyes gleamed with an almost frightening anxiousness. His fear of death and separation of Temari was becoming more concrete, shaping itself into a visible trepidation.

Tsunade hesitated.

"Go, Hokage-sama. You can do nothing else."

The Hokage was about to protest when Gaara took her arm and gently lead her from the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving the lovers to talk for the last time.

"Spare him this one kindness. This will kill Temari."

Tsunade looked at the ground. "I could not save him."

"You cannot save everyone."

The Kages headed towards Tsunade's mansion, one filled with grief at the loss of a nin and the other filled with fear over the expected loss of a sister.

**Orochimaru's Palace**

Sakura awoke to find her wrists in chains attached to the hard stone floor. After a minor struggle, she realized they were laced with powerful chakra and the blow that Kabuto had given her on the neck had weakened her considerably. She immediately began to heal the more damaged areas herself.

The floor was damp and cold, and everything reeked with mildew. Her eyes, sightless at first, grew accustomed to the cavernous light and began to make out tall walls with pillars and many different colored stones ranging from blue to green to black.

_Orochimaru's decorating no doubt_, Sakura mused to herself acidly.

"Admiring my palace, Sakura-san?" The voice seemed laced with venom.

Sakura did not respond. A face with snake eyes appeared in front of her, attempting to startle the girl.

She never even twitched.

Orochimaru frowned. "A tough sell, eh Kabuto?"

Kabuto emerged from the shadows, a most sadistic grin playing across his face. "Well there is always the 'magic word' to make her blood boil."

"Ah yes, quite right. We will not use it yet though." Orochimaru tipped her chin up to look at him. "A pretty creature. What _was_ that boy thinking?"

"I asked her the same thing."

Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"It was a compliment, my dear."

"Sakura-san does not enjoy them."

"I can see that." Orochimaru studied her face a little longer before letting her head drop down.

"You're going to be very useful, _little blossom_."


	5. Hidden Schemes

Gaara sat up, stiff as a board. He rubbed his eyes which were both tired and bloodshot, due to lack of any sort of sleep in the past few days except for dozing filled with half-concious dreams. His nightmares were becoming more tortuous as time passed. It had been a week since Sakura had left.

He had seen her every night of her absence.

The Kazekage walked down the hall from his bedroom to his favorite spot on the roof. It was peaceful and absolutely still outside, a rarity in the Wind Country. It was as if everything was holding its breath, waiting for the outcome of these events.

One outcome had been determined already.

Shikamaru had died in Temari's arms the previous night. She had remained in Konoha to bury him. Gaara would have stayed, but Suna called for him to come back and his responsiblities came first. After cautioning Temari to be as strong as she ever was, Gaara had returned home. The matter that needed his attention was swiftly dealt with and now nothing occupied his thoughts except _her_.

The moon glistened on the stone roof, making its variously colored minerals sparkle in all their brilliance. It was a beautiful night.

_I'm dying._

The thought occured to him with very little emotion on his part. There was no start of surprise or loss of compusure. He had subconciously come to terms with the fact long ago.

_She's killing me. Sakura...is killing me._

Gaara stared at the crystal clear sky, stars twinkling far off and the moon still shining, providing light to his dark thoughts.

_We are...the same. Our souls and hearts are twisted into one unbreakable strand. If she were to die, I would die. If she is hurt, I am hurt. Everything is so inescapably painful and makes me horribly miserable. _

_But this misery keeps me alive. _

_Without it, I would cease to be dying and already be dead. And that part of me that longs to exist and know a meaning for my existence finds it in that misery. In that pain._

_In this love._

_I love Haruno Sakura. _

_And I'm dying for it._

Gaara lurched forward. There was a stabbing pain in his abdomen that circulated oddly to his arms. It was as if it were traveling in his very blood. When it was over, the calm resettled over the Kazekage's body excepting the eyes.

For the first time in his life, Gaara's eyes were filled with a mortal terror.

He let out a very shaky whisper.

"She's hurt."

**Orochimaru's Palace**

Sakura let out a gasp as Kabuto's fist sunk into her stomach. She doubled over, wanting to scream, but replused at the idea of giving the man such satisfaction. Her lips remained closed. Tightly.

"That will teach you to be saucy, you witch!"

"Kabuto."

The one addressed turned to face his master.

"I told you not to touch her."

"I made an exception."

"You do not make exceptions with me!"

Two pairs of eyes narrowed at each other.

"She was being smart."

"How does that change my command in the least?"

The two began to argue again. Sakura remained sitting where she was, neither caring nor pretending to care about the two idiots who were bickering for the thousandth time. She was far more interested in a voice that she heard in her head.

"I'm coming."

It repeated itself over and over. She couldn't place it either, not even sure it was a voice she had heard before.

But it was comforting.

Sakura closed her eyes.

_"You are going to be very useful, little blossom."_

_"What makes you say that?"_

_"Because, dear little Sakura, you are going to replace Kabuto."_

_Sakura looked at him blankly. Kabuto's coutenance, however, was filled with passionate rage._

_"Replace me! Why would a little kunoichi like her be my replacement, Orochimaru-sama?" He spat the word "Orochimaru-sama" like some bad-tasting food._

_"Because I need a medic-nin that can be as stoic as she is and not so flashy and conceited."_

_"Conceited? Conceited! You, of all people, accuse me of being conceited!"_

_"This is what I mean, Kabuto."_

_Orochimaru looked down at the kunoichi. After her blank look had faded off her visage, it was replaced with a look of general indifference._

_"I refuse."_

_"Of course you do. But you don't really have a choice in this, little girl."_

_"What can you do to me?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Then what's your point?"_

_"You'll see."_

_"Orochimaru-sama, I really must-" Kabuto interjected._

_"Shut up."_

And the conversation had ended. Sakura had no intention whatsoever of becoming one of Orochimaru's brain-washed minions. She'd rather die. That, apparently, was not his plan. He had simply imprisoned her in this maze of his, letting her wander freely about. Kabuto had become an increasingly rare face at the palace. He was always off doing something.

It was just as well. She didn't have to listen to moronic arguments while he was gone.

She almost never saw Orochimaru. He seemed to have lost interest in her altogether. She had a very hard time believing that he really wanted her to be his right-hand nin. It wasn't logical.

He was definitely planning something else.

Sakura bit her lip. How was she supposed to carry out her mission now? She had no idea how to get close enough to Orochimaru. He had home field advantage in this place. Everything was on his side.

Everything.

**later**

"Really, I could be an actor."

"I'm sure you could."

Kabuto grinned and admired himself proudly in a looking glass. "I think she actually believes we hate each other and you want her to replace me!"

"Most likely." Orochimaru grinned sadistically.

"Do you think her as a prisoner will be enough to lure out the two Kages?"

"We know one is on his way."

"We were sure of that one. What about Tsunade?"

"She's a tough girl. It might not happen."

"But we'll have the Sand guy?"

"Absolutely. He loves her. It's really too bad she's still in love with Sasuke-kun. Or rather...me I suppose?"

"That's a strange thought."

"Find him, Kabuto. Make sure he comes here. Make it easy for him to figure it out."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

With that, Kabuto disappeared.

Orochimaru smirked. If he had seen himself, he would have realized it had traces of the Uchiha's smirk.

The plan was falling into place.


	6. The True Conspirator

Gaara was preparing to leave Suna. He had put Kankuro in charge of running things until his return. As the Kazekage packed, he decided to pay a visit to his sister. She had been ill for several days with what seemed to be a very bad fever.

Only Gaara guessed that Temari was really nursing a broken heart.

She refused to speak with anyone after Shikamaru's death. She scoffed at all words of sympathy or pity. The Sand-nin could not and would not be comforted.

He did not want to lose her.

Gaara quietly opened the door to her bedroom and stepped inside. Temari was lying down, staring up at her ceiling with a very blank look. She seemed unconcious of anything around her; to be in a sort of delirium.

Gaara waited.

She finally turned her gaze to him, but it was vacant. His eyes flashed slightly with a barely noticeable concern that was obvious to only himself.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm leaving in a few hours."

"Then leave."

"I came to say good-bye."

"Of course you did."

There was quiet. Gaara's gaze was becoming ever more unsettled.

"He killed him."

He gave her a questioning look.

Temari sighed and looked away. "Orochimaru killed him."

"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

Gaara's eyes grew wide for a split second. _Orochimaru?_

"I wish I could kill him. I wish I could make him suffer. I wish there was something I could do. He frayed that artery on purpose. He made is so it would be slow and painful. He said that Sakura was being discussed."

The boy lurched towards his sister. "Sakura? What about Sakura? Temari! Answer me!"

Her eyes seemed to stare right through him. "I want to kill Orochimaru."

"Temari!"

"Quit yelling, Gaara."

"Answer me!"

Her eyes focused a little bit and she calmed slightly. "Sakura is there. Orochimaru has her. They told Shikamaru..."

"Where is he? Where did they take Sakura?"

"I don't know."

There was silence.

"I'm dying Gaara. I don't want to live anymore. There's no reason behind it. Why should I live? My life is gone..."

"I told you to be strong, Temari."

"You overestimated me."

Gaara looked at her hard. "It's by your own choice that you die. I do not pity you or feel sorry for you. I am angry at your selfishness to give up. Die if you please, Temari. I will kill Orochimaru myself."

"I do not wish for you to be angry. If you lost her, you would do the same."

"Her?"

"Don't play dumb, it's annoying."

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes. "I would not roll over and die."

"You say that now."

"Good-bye, Temari."

She didn't answer.

Gaara turned and closed the door softly, walked away softly, and said farewell to Kankuro softly. Everything was done quietly and with little fanfare.

It was all to conceal his deep-rooted fear that Sakura might really be dead.

**Orochimaru's Palace**

"Have you made your decision, Sakura?"

Sakura glared. "You know my choice. I should not have to tell you again."

The kunoichi obstinately folded her arms, her eyes cold and unfeeling. She stared him down, neither fearing or caring about his magnificent prowess in shinobi arts. She would take him down if it was necessary.

"People will get hurt."

"Like who?"

"Your boyfriend."

"I don't have one."

"So the affection is one-sided."

Sakura turned away, refusing to look at him.

Orochimaru grinned. "He's coming to save you. And if you had agreed to fight for me I might have spared him. But as it is, he will die."

"You can't kill him."

"So he is important to you?"

"That's no shocker."

"I will kill him. And he will die willingly."

"Yeah, right."

The man took her chin in his hand and made her look at him.

"There are things far worse than death and when given the choice, most will choose the latter before the former."

"Gaara is strong."

"He has one weakness."

"Go away."

"I'm already leaving." With that, Orochimaru was gone.

Sakura began to pace. She had to fulfill her mission within a day or two. If not, Gaara was in serious danger of being killed. It was something that she couldn't let happen.

_Think, Sakura!_

Kabuto would be gone for several days. She could paralyze Orochimaru from the neck with a blow of chakra. She would then have to use the technique in which she removed his soul. It would have to be the correct soul and if everything went well, Sasuke's own soul would take over. Orochimaru's would be sealed inside her own body with a very powerful seal to isolate it from herself.

Sasuke might have wounds from the process that she would need to treat immediately.

Sakura took a deep breath. She would have to do it tonight. There was no other way to save Gaara.

It was becoming clearer now. _They used me as bait for him. The Kazekage._

_Maybe even Tsunade-sama._

_I can't let that happen._

**later**

Gaara looked through the tree tops to the stars. He was resting for the first time in four days in his pursuit of Sakura. His thoughts were ever on her. Even when he slept, she haunted his dreams. All he was ever able to see as he moved forward on his journey were those enchanting green eyes.

_I can't defeat loneliness. I can't live without her._

_Don't leave me, Sakura._

Standing up, he began to spring through the branches towards Orochimaru's palace. He knew he was getting very close.

A pang shot through his arm.

_Sakura!_

**Orochimaru's Palace**

Sakura felt like her arm was on fire; like a bolt of lightning had shot through it. She had pushed so much chakra into Orochimaru's neck that it actually hurt her as well. But he was paralyzed temporarily at least.

In shock, the villain had fallen to the ground and was most likely unconcious. Sakura would have to hurry. If Kabuto showed up, she was doomed.

The mission, she had to fulfill her mission.

_You don't deserve this, Uchiha Sasuke._

She formed the seals needed and the technique was underway. A ghoulish looking creature stood behind her. She feared to turn around to face the horrible monster she was using. She wouldn't think about it, she had to keep her head. With all the force she could muster, Sakura began to draw out Orochimaru's soul. She felt like she was wrestling with a sycamore log.

_This isn't working...and it's draining my chakra quickly. I can't..._

"That's a pretty powerful technique for a chunin to be trying, Sakura-san."

_Kabuto_. Sakura turned to face him, her teeth gritted with the effort she was exerting. _This can't be happening..._

And then she felt the pop. That was the only way she could describe it.

_His soul...I've got it!_ Drawing all the strength she could muster, Sakura sealed the soul in her hand. She fell to her knees panting. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been here, just waiting for you to make your move. I've known your intentions for a very long time now, little girl."

Sakura stared.

Kabuto smirked. "It was I who planted that notebook of Orochimaru's in Tsunade's stack of books. It was I who made sure Shikamaru went back to Konoha knowing you were here so that he would be able to get word to Tsunade. He got it to his girlfriend instead, but the Kazekage is a marvelous prize. And he will die and Suna will be in tumult. Oh yes, Sakura...I am most certainly the mastermind behind all of this. Thank you for playing your part."

Kabuto rushed for her...and sprang back. Sakura gave him a strange look before following his gaze to her hand.

Her hand. The seal was glowing red. Sakura slapped her other hand on top of it and cried out. She felt her flesh burn as the seal began to break.

_No...I have to keep it sealed...I..._

With the last of her chakra, Sakura tried to contain her seal. Orochimaru's strong will was fighting the seal with all its might and the kunoichi was fast losing strength. Sakura just wanted the hurting to end. No wound she had ever had hurt more than this. The pain did not go away.

"So the great Haruno Sakura cannot even perform a simple sealing jutsu? That is poor work for Tsunade's prize apprentice. It really is a good thing that the Hokage is not coming, she doesn't seem that tempting a target after all. It hurts, doesn't it? Don't worry...I will put you out of your misery now!"

Kabuto resumed his attack. He drew back to give her a blow to the head...and was jerked back by a column of sand. Skittering across the stone floor, Kabuto came to rest and sprang up to see a boy with red, spiky hair running to Sakura, checking to see if she was alive.

"Kazekage-sama," said Kabuto acidly, "how nice of you to join us."

Gaara raised his eyes which were lit with rage. "Don't touch her again."

"You're not in a position to tell me what I can and cannot do."

"Try me." Gaara stared him down.

Sakura screamed. The seal began to throb more. "Gaara! It's going to break!"

Gaara grabbed her hand and put forth all of his effort to seal the thing himself. Finally, the seal settled. The girl faded out of consciousness because of the pain. _Hopefully it will last long enough for me to get her out of here._

The Kazekage turned to face Kabuto, standing between him and Sakura. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to her."

**Author's Note:**

**I would like to thank my reviewers who are awesome and full of awesomeness.**

**NeedsBlueHair**

**Heart's Door**

**SasukesoOoFlower**

**ShinigamiLenne**

**Gaarascookie**

**Confuzzled239**

**GaaraxSakura-all-the-way**

**AnzSnostuf**

**Puppyeye1**

**Gaara's desert blossom**

**succubi in rapture**

**BLOOD ROSE**

**Holding On to Heart**

**XxShadow-Of-LiesxX**

**greenhyuga**

**slaymyheart**

**If you guys would like to know the inspiration of my story, go read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. You'll find the similaries instantly and by the time this fic is over, you will understand it clearly.**


	7. Sakura's Misconceptions

Gaara was aware that he was being gawked at by the medic-nin. Kabuto had most likely never seen Gaara in such a state of agitated passion. His eyes, normally cool and uninterested, were sparkling with rage for his adversary and concern for the unconscious kunoichi at his feet. His breathing came heavily as if he were holding back a torrential storm of tears. Every inch of his face was etched with emotion.

No one would have recognized the Kazekage.

Kabuto immediately saw a weakness in the once untouchable Gaara. He would do anything for his precious darling. Anything to keep her from pain. He suddenly hit upon the ultimate way to break the sand-nin.

Suddenly, Kabuto scooped up Sakura and placed his hand, filled with chakra, against her neck. The flash and start of Gaara's eyes was enough to confirm that his tactic was well-founded.

"Surrender...and I won't hurt her."

"Put her down."

"I will. If you surrender."

"On what terms?"

"You allow yourself to be tortured extensively. In any way I see fit. And to assure that you will cooperate." Kabuto began to lace strings of chakra about the kunoichi's throat. "A trick I picked up from some late subordinates. Now then, if you wish her to stay alive, you will allow this treatment. If you wish her to die a slow, painful death by several days of strangulation, then you will go free with that on your conscience."

Gaara was silent.

"Kazekage-sama."

"You don't need my answer. You know it already."

"Excellent."

Gaara removed his gourd and let his hands be bound with chakra-laced chains, the same kind that Sakura had worn.

"What are you going to do with that?"

Kabuto glanced at the body of Orochimaru's former habitation. "Give it to Sakura."

"What?"

"Let her do her best. She's in love with the boy. It will make her happier than anyone in the world to see him alive."

The sand-nin grew quiet again.

"It's too bad for you."

Gaara didn't respond.

With a most wicked grin, Kabuto took Sakura and the inanimate Sasuke to a sealed chamber keeping the string that was attached to her constantly in his hand.

"To keep you good on your word."

**later**

Sakura woke up to find herself locked in a room with a seemingly lifeless body. She glanced around, letting her eyes get accustomed to the dark. There was a small movement from the corner.

Curious, she crept up to it. Everything hit her at once.

It was Sasuke's body. And he was moving!

_He's...alive..._

Sakura immediately began to work her healing techniques on him, repairing the damage to his spinal cord when she had paralyzed him and healing numerous wounds he had had before she had arrived. She also worked to stabilize his vitals, getting him to breathe normally and slowing his pulse.

Slowly but surely he began to return to a more normal state of existence. But would he wake up?

She would have to wait.

The door creaked open. Up until that point, Sakura had forgotten that she was a prisoner. Now she was fully alert and took a defensive stance immediately.

"So you were able to heal him, Sakura-san?"

Sakura simply stared him down.

"I hope you will enjoy his company, as your friend is no longer alive."

_What?_

"You have lost any value to me now. You and Sasuke, if he ever wakes up, can return to Konoha and live happily ever after." Kabuto stood aside and held open the door.

Sakura gaped at him, like a long-imprisoned animal that has no idea what to do when its owner opens the door. She stared at her jailer for a few moments before venturing to pick Sasuke up and carry him out of the chamber.

"Thank you, once again, for playing your part," the man sneered.

Sakura felt a tear roll down her cheek. "Why did you do that?"

"Why do you care?"

"He was my friend."

"Is that all?"

The girl hesitated. She seemed to be weighing her feelings, trying to sort her emotions.

"Yes."

"He died loving you."

"I pity him."

"You don't love him at all, Sakura-san?" There was a pause.

"I love Sasuke-kun."

Suddenly, Sakura broke into a run, carrying the Uchiha out of the palace and as far away from it as she could get.

_I'm so sorry, Gaara._

**Orochimaru's Palace**

Kabuto watched Sakura run away and then turned to face the Kazekage, silenced by a jutsu that prevented him from speaking.

The torture session was over.

"She doesn't love you."

The prisoner did not respond, though Kabuto canceled the jutsu. .

"You will stay here and fight for me. I can use you."

Gaara's eyes hardened. "I don't care. Do whatever you like."

"What about her?"

"You said so yourself. She doesn't love me."

Kabuto turned his back to the Kazekage and smiled. It had worked. Everything was going according to plan.

"Then follow me."

Kabuto turned down a corridor and disappeared. Gaara followed him with little fanfare, completely disregarding the fact that he marched to a certain death at the service of this twisted mind.

**one month later/Konoha**

Sakura sat at the river edge, tossing stones in carelessly, letting her mind wander through the past few months of her life. The breeze played with her hair and she would have been very pretty except for the fact that her eyes were most troubled and revealed a tortured soul beneath a stern exterior.

Sasuke had remained inexorable for two weeks. She had constantly attended him, clinging to hope that he would wake up. That he would learn of her care and rescue. And that he would love her. She certainly still loved him.

Her thoughts were constantly shadowed by her belief that Gaara was dead. And as much as she tried to tell herself that what was past was unchangeable, she still expected him to walk into her apartment unannounced, still looked for his face when she wandered the streets, still turned to speak to a non-existent person when she sat on her porch looking at the stars.

She constantly pushed those thoughts away with hopes for Sasuke.

Sasuke woke up on a chilly morning. There was still frost on his window and the sun was just barely creeping over the horizon.

Sakura was the first person he saw.

She stared at her long lost teammate as if trying to convince herself that he was really sitting there fully awake and was not some illusion born from her high expectations. He looked around like someone who has woken from a nap that felt like it lasted forever. Four years will do that to some people.

When he finally recollected who it was that watched over him, his face seemed to cloud slightly.

"Where is Orochimaru?"

Sakura held up her hand. The seal was permanent now. Tsunade had seen that a proper seal was made for the vile soul. Sakura still suffered pains from it every day. It was, however, something she was willing to bear for Sasuke's sake.

The Uchiha scowled. Sakura gave him a puzzled glance.

"Leave."

"What?"

"Leave now."

His voice was not what she expected. It seemed to be holding back an unspeakable rage.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!"

Sakura stared, then shaking, rose from her chair opening the door, letting it click softly behind her.

Sasuke stared at his bedsheets. "Meddlesome witch," he muttered.

The kunoichi and tried numerous times to see him. He refused to speak with her. He suffered Tsunade's presence because she was the Hokage. And that was all.

One day, Sakura had had enough. About a week after the boy had woken up, Sakura walked into his room and sat down matter of factly. Sasuke simply looked at her, unconcerned though slightly annoyed.

"What percisely do you want?"

"An explanation as to why you refuse to see me."

"Because I don't wish to."

"That explains nothing."

There was silence thickly laced with tension. It seemed to loom over the heads of the two headstrong nins.

"Sasuke, I love-"

"I don't."

Sakura looked at him with wounded eyes.

"What did you do to me?"

"I-I saved you. I took out Orochimaru's soul and...healed you and brought you back..."

"To this accursed place?" Sakura stared at him in shock. "I despise this village and I despise the people in it. And I most certainly despise you! You wretch, I told you not to interfere. I told you to leave me alone. Didn't I? _Didn't_ I? And you come and "save" me from having power? And strength? Do you honestly believe I really wished for that? For you and your meddling tricks to ruin everything I had gained? I was the ultimate in shinobi prowess. And in one moment, you took that away! You expect me to run to you thanking you for your kindness and accepting your love with open arms? I _hate_ you!"

Sakura felt the tears burn underneath her lashes. She blinked them back stubbornly, rising to her feet, her capacity to control her rage reaching its very low limit. "How dare you speak to me in that way! How dare you call me such names and to proclaim you hate me! It was a mission, and not something that I did by choice. Yet, I did it and I tried to help you for the very sake that I had always, _always_ loved you. Someone died in the effort to save you. Died for my sake. And you bewail to me how you are wronged? How _can_ you even think of speaking to me so? Any love for you, any affection has been effectively quenched!"

"Good! I've had a very hard time of it too! How long do you suppose I've been trying to shake your silly affections and girlish crushes? How long do you think I was put to the end of my patience trying to get you to not only let me alone, but to detest me? I have wanted nothing more for five years than to make you hate me to the very core of your being. And you believe I am punished by your speech? I am glad!"

Sasuke threw back his head with a cackle of venemous laughter. His eyes were filled with a mania of rage and amusement. Sakura was nearly distracted with rejection and anger and let out a scream before turning and running from the hospital. Running, running, running.

That laughter still haunted her dreams every night. She always woke from it in a cold sweat. She ate very little and spoke with no one for days, never leaving her house for almost a week. She seemed half-crazed with rage and heartbreak.

She had grown ill in the past week. A coughing fit would suddenly seize her unexpectedly and leave her choking for ten minutes at a time. Today she had noticed blood in her hand.

The illness was rather trifling but it would be enough to mark the kunoichi as dying.

Haurno Sakura had lost the will to live.


	8. An Ill Conceived Invasion

_I'm so altered...so invariably different. My heart feels like a dried piece of once green grass, pulled from the root and utterly hopeless. Everything, everything in me feels dead. My very breath smells of death. When I cough up blood I almost hope to die, to hear my pulse slow and ultimately stop._

_Why am I so changed?_

_I have thought about it. I have thoroughly examined it. I came to an early conclusion; that Sasuke was the reason for my heartbreak. Yet that reason alone does not satiate my desire to know why everything has lost its color and poetry. Why everything is empty and meaningless._

_Why?_

_The affection I had for Sasuke seems too puny, too insignificant to create my current state of mind and my current loss of all expectation in anything. I am alone and I have determined to remain alone until I'm gone...which can only be a mercy if the time is sooner. I am an empty shell of broken dreams and false hopes. I am not Haruno Sakura. I am her face masquerading in a state of wellness. Not even Tsunade-sama guesses my condition. It is just as well, I guess._

_None of my reflections have answered my question. Why am I so heartbroken?_

_Why do I no longer care to live?_

Sakura knew she was only fooling herself into a state of perpetual ignorance. She knew the truth. Its ugly face, though beautiful to her for it was the face of a beloved, haunted her dreams every night since Sasuke had told her of his hatred. She recalled it often in subconsciouness but ignored it in waking thought. Her mind was ever wondering for some other excuse for her loss of self.

She knew there was no excuse. Haurno Sakura was dying for the very reason that Sabaku no Gaara had been dying.

The two estranged hearts did not realize they both bled to death for each other.

Sakura woke from her thoughts. They came far too close to the edge of her limited mental wanderings. She was sprawled out on the now dead grass of Konoha. It was a beautfiul Ocotober morning with fluffy clouds and a chilly breeze. The leaves, now brown and dry, were scattered to and fro by the wind in its varying caprices. The weather suited the state of the kunoichi just fine.

She felt just like those leaves. Blowing about with no purpose or direction, dead and ultimately useless. There was one dead leaf that still retained a beautiful shade of red. Sakura could almost see Gaara's hair in it.

No, she would not think of him. He was gone.

Gone.

The girl stood up and walked away from the tombstone she had been lying near, smiling at it affectionately. She didn't even know the one buried, only that it was a great hero from earlier days. Her smile was born out of an absurd thought to join him.

She grimaced as she walked by the grave of the late Uchiha Sasuke. The boy had died three months earlier, in the height of July. The extraction of Orochimaru's soul had proved too difficult for him to recover from. Having no desire to live, he died cursing his village, his people, and Sakura. There were no tears of any kind at his passing.

The said soul was an ever constant bother to the dying kunoichi. It hurt her extremely though she never complained and would feign that everything was easy and painless. She hid her suffering so well that no one guessed that every night she had to reinforce her seal. It drained her chakra to no end and she quit her lessons with her teachers, claiming that she had no more desire for knowledge; she pretended that it was all over the death of the Uchiha. Sakura knew he did not matter so much to her.

The definition of peace was foreign to the girl. At the age of twenty-one, she should have been in the prime of health, not dying of brokenness or suffering at the hands of a worrisome scar. Her prowess as a shinobi declined and such an alteration did not attract her attention for an instant.

Sakura was changed beyond repair for she believed the one person that could help her to be dead.

--

"I will not kill everyone in Konoha." Gaara looked at his new master, defying his order with unconcerned eyes.

"Why do you care about them, Kazekage-sama?"

"I am no longer Kazekage. Refrain from such titles if you please. I will kill all but one. You are hopeless if I have to spell this out for you."

"Kaze-Gaara, really this is nigh on ridiculous. She does not care anything for you. Why do you persist on protecting her when she-"

"I will cut my throat before I touch her."

There was quiet between the quarreling bodies. Kabuto looked quite put out while Gaara looked on emotionless and uncaring.

"I will do it myself then."

"I will kill you if you come near her. It will not harm your position any to let her be."

"I strive for the complete eradication-"

"And I strive for you to watch your mouth. You know that I fight under the compulsion that there is nothing left for me in this world. Why else would I doom myself to an early death and disgraceful life by your side? I detest you more than I have ever detested anything else in my existence and I am a most accomplished expert in the art of hating. You dare to pretend I have any loyalty to you whatsoever? You are a fool if you believe so. I care nothing more for what happens to me or anybody else except for _her_ and you will not touch the one thing that I tell you not to. I could kill you if you tried. Do not underestimate me."

Kabuto looked at him angrily, but knowing the bittter truth of his soliloquy, desired not to press his patience further.

"Do as you wish, idiot." He stormed off, irritated beyond reason. Gaara had that effect on him a lot lately.

Gaara stood there, wrapped in his own thoughts and dark dreams. His eyes softened to an expression that he never let Kabuto see. It only spread across his visage when images of sparkling green eyes, pink hair, and china skin flitted across his memory.

_You must have been lying when you said you didn't love me. I long for the words that will confirm such thoughts. Why do you not come, Sakura? _

Hours later, the pair of villains reached the borders of Konoha. Having ended their dispute on cool terms in the outer woods, they sought to achieve their goal of destroying everything and everyone, except the one Gaara would spare personally. Kabuto had told him their next target would be Suna. Gaara did not object. Temari had died a month earlier, finally succumbing to her heartbreak. Kankuro had left for some distant country and some person Gaara never even knew had been the Kazekage since his disappearance. He felt no connection to the village whatsoever. All feelings he had had existed in Sakura and when he lost her, he lost his ability to have them.

Kabuto went on ahead, saying he would set fire to many buildings before beginning his killing spree. Gaara would follow suit when he saw the Hokage's mansion go up in flames. If Kabuto had realized Gaara's ulterior motives and intentions, however, he might not have been so trusting.

--

Sakura had been particularly ill that day. She remained in her apartment, anxious to conceal from others that she was worsening in her sickness which many still had no knowledge of. Her coughs came in five minute intervals now and almost always contained some blood mixed with the phelgm. Her eyes were vacant and completely void of any sparkle that she had once possessed. Her face was a constant testament to pain and suffering. Her once creamy skin was pale and ghost-like. Her appearance was as altered as her heart had been for many months.

There was no hope for the girl. She knew it was only a matter of weeks or months before she died.

_I will regret so much._

This disturbed her, but she was too tired and irritable to continuously sift her thoughts of unpleasant ideas.

_I failed him. I left his body without bothering to look for him. I stated that I loved Sasuke above him. But my heart and soul and all of my being always belonged to Gaara. We had a connection deeper than the sea, more tender than a rosebud, and stronger than steel. He needed the capacity for strong attachments and I gave him mine. I needed the strength of mind and he gave me his. If compatibilty between two people ever existed, it was between us._

_But I scorned that and pretended that I did not care. I let everyone believe my heart was breaking over Sasuke's death when it was truthfully because of my loss of Gaara. I always, always loved him. My fear prevented me from admitting it so openly._

_I have been a fool._

Sakura felt a tear wander down her cheek. It was merely the forerunner for many tears which began to pour out of her eyes without ceasing. An hour or two went by, checked by sobs that came at irregular intervals. She felt like the broken pieces of her heart were disintegrating in her tears and melting away.

It felt good to cry so much.

When her wet eyes finally began to dry, Sakura sniffed...to smell a very odd and out of place scent. Of...what was it? Dry leaves? No, not quite. It was...smoke. Smoke! She turned her head and gaped to see smoke pouring past her window.

Something very massive was on fire. She had to get out of there. She had to see if they needed her.

Sakura lept from her bed and went with all the speed she could muster out her door and into the street.

--

Kabuto was growing impatient. _Why isn't he coming? I was very clear on the timing, but I don't see him anywhere._

The man suddenly spotted a splash of pink hair running down the street.

_Lucky, Sakura-san. If it wasn't for the lover you scorned, I would kill you right now. I almost should to punish him for his lateness. It is a good thing that I love my existence so much or I might find the attraction more appealing._

Kabuto began bounding from house to house. Panic was in full swing, the Hokage trying to find the arsonist who set fire to her mansion. An ANBU squad quickly overtook the outlaw and a fight ensued.

The medic-nin killed them all in less than five minutes.

A flash of red caught the villain's attention. He turned to see Gaara bounding from roof to roof. Yet he seemed in no hurry to kill anything. Kabuto waxed cross as he realized very quickly what he was doing.

_He's wasting time looking for Sakura no doubt. _

Gaara seemed to have spotted the girl, for in an instant he was by her side. A blow on her shoulder knocked her out cold and Kabuto could see the boy scooping her up in his arms and...leaving?

"What is he...?"

Before he had time to think, Kabuto was beset by more ANBU of Konoha. The man's rage began to grow rapidly.

_He's leaving with the girl! He tricked me._

Kabuto knew he was in for a long fight.

**Author's Note:**

**I have decided to switch this story's title from "Just Friends" to "Desert Rose". If you haven't heard that song by Sting then you haven't lived. Anyway, just wanted to let ya know.**

**Thank you reviewers...the list is getting too long, but you know who you are.**

**This chapter is sorta short so as to give me more creative time. **

**And I think it's a little less rushed, but if you still think I have a problem, flame away:)**

**Manwaithiel**


	9. Change In Plans

Gaara ignored the raging Kabuto. He wished the man would shut his mouth for just five minutes or so. He was going to run out of oxygen at this rate.

Not that Gaara cared.

After leaving Sakura in a clump of bushes and covered with protective jutsus, Gaara returned to Konoha to aid his ill-liked master. Kabuto had ranted and raved the entire time about how he had left him and how he had almost caused the failure of their plans. Yes, almost. For by Gaara's hand, Konoha had been leveled (Naruto was the only survivor and had disappeared, it seemed, for good), though he kept a strange habit of refraining from the murder of children. Kabuto realized it was because of Gaara's underlying fear that Sakura would wake to hate him.

She probably would anyway.

"If I had realized that you were going to take Sakura away first, I would have-" Kabuto let out a gasp as a hand closed around his throat.

"Be quiet."

Kabuto was silent.

Gaara dropped him in his usual nonchalant way and approached the unconscious kunoichi who still remained hidden. His eyes shifted from side to side for a moment as he took the time to examine her.

Sakura's skin was no longer beautifully pale and creamy, but sickly and almost yellow looking. Her entire face wore the haggardness of long suffering. In his arms, she had felt so frail and weak. Gaara was unable to comprehend the change at all. If he was privy to the fact that Sakura lied concerning her feelings toward himself, he might have been able to discern its origin easily. As it was, he was completely stupified by the change and distressed that she looked so unwell. He was relieved her eyes were closed; he did not want to think about how _they_ were altered.

Scooping up the girl, he bounded through the treetops with Kabuto, ignoring the sighs of annoyance or the looks of disgust sent his way every few minutes or so. It was rather annoying and Gaara simply did not care how put out Kabuto was with him. He could have died for all it mattered to him.

"You might have sped up the process a little bit if you were going to do that first."

"I thought I told you to be quiet."

"I'm tired of listening to you."

"Then you're tired of living."

"One day, Gaara, you will submit yourself to me completely. And by the looks of that woman in your arms, the day is very soon. What part of your once salvaged life will you cling on to when she is gone?"

"Be silent," Gaara hissed through gritted teeth.

Kabuto simply shook his head in anger and ignored Gaara for the rest of the journey back to the palace.

_Sakura is too strong to die. My Sakura would not let heartbreak kill her. She would not be like Temari, allowing her mind to crumble at the slightest unpleasant change in circumstance. She is not like that._

Still, her appearance did not support any such conclusion. Gaara found himself nearly running into several branches and boughs as he was constantly absorbed in examining Sakura's features, looking for signs of life or recovery. He became increasingly distressed when he could find none.

Shaking out of his dismal thoughts, Gaara began to think of ways in which to help restore Sakura. He would have to keep her away from Kabuto. He felt no real inclination to return with the man, but feared what he might threaten against the girl if he attempted an escape or parleyed for dismissal. It was of no use and he knew it.

Unbeknownst to the sand-nin, Kabuto was eyeing him throughout the journey, guessing percisely, or nearly so, his thoughts and intentions. He smiled to himself, knowing that because of Gaara's love, he was not completely claimed by darkness, but he was also a slave to it for the same reason. He feared displeasing Sakura which kept him from acts that were heinous even for his old self, but in fear of any harm to her well-being, allowing Kabuto to have his way as long as it did not adversely affect the kunoichi.

It grew dark and Kabuto, in need of rest after his horrible and tiring deeds, suggested they pause. Gaara said nothing, but simply landed in a small clearing in the forest; he immediately began to set up a sleeping area for Sakura who had stirred slightly, but had not regained full consciousness. He waited till Kabuto went off in search of water before shaking Sakura gently and whispering for her to wake up. The girl, after several attempts of this kind, was finally restored to sensation but was disoriented beyond reason, so much so, that she did not even recognize Gaara until she had recovered sufficient use of all her faculties. Her reaction was to be expected: she stared at him for several minutes as if she saw (and she did indeed believe she saw) a ghost.

"I am no phantom, Sakura."

"But...I thought..."

"I know what you thought."

They were quiet. "Why am I here?"

"Because, Sakura, you don't have a home anymore."

She blinked a few times, not quite understanding his statement. "What are you-"

"Konoha is gone. Kabuto and I have completely destroyed it. And before you ask, everyone, except for Naruto, is dead as well. And I don't know where the boy went."

Sakura's eyes were wide with astonishment and fear. "Kabuto? But...why did you..." And with a sudden spark anger was kindled in those eyes. "Why did you do that Gaara!" _His_ eyes were cool and collected.

"Because there was nothing else to do."

"Nothing else? How can you _say_ that! How _could_ you?"

"You should not be telling me how cruel I am, nor how cold or horrible! I might be a monster-I always was. But I was never so diabolical as to lie about the state of my heart and soul, was I, _Sakura_?" He said everything but her name with disdain and scorn, the only reminder to the bewildered girl that he did not hate her.

"What do you mean?"

"The day you broke my heart and claimed you did not love me, was the day that I became this. And yet, I have not turned fiend. Look! I am still Gaara, and above everything else, I still love you. Don't look at me in such astonishment! You guessed long ago, I know you did, Sakura! I had to threaten that bothersome Kabuto a thousand times to keep you from death and this is how you thank me!"

"I would thank you better if you did not kill my entire village!" Sakura's cry was checked by a cough that settled into her lungs and she brought her hands up to catch the blood she knew would come.

Gaara's eyes flashed for an instant, though not daring to seem too soft. "What has happened to you?"

"I got sick."

"From what?"

"Heartbreak."

"You let that Uchiha bring you to _this_?"

"As if my petty liking for him could bring me to such a state, Gaara! Now who is cruel and heartless? I am dying for shame of my conduct towards you. Now then!" And Sakura showed him her open hands, stained with a great deal of blood.

There was horror, well-disguised as it was, in the sand-nin's eyes. He caught one of her hands in both of his, staring at it as if trying to bring himself to believe it was there. Then he released it and turned away.

"You should not have left me."

"I thought you were dead."

"You believed that snake? He is no better than the master you defeated."

Sakura grew quiet and the silence settled over the two cross friends and Gaara remained with his back turned and seemed to have fallen asleep standing. At length however, Sakura stood and walked over to Gaara, placing one hand on his shoulder. "I have regretted my conduct to this very moment, Gaara."

He turned to face Sakura, his eyes were wet and the pity that was so long absent from them reigned again. Catching her in his arms, he held her in his tighest embrace and cried.

"Why Sakura? Why didn't you say you loved me? I would have never let Kabuto do what he did if you had not lied on that day and said that you loved the Uchiha more than me! My heartbreak was far greater and if it wasn't for the fact that I count my feelings as nothing when they stand next to yours, I would have no pity or sympathy for your plight. As it is, I wish that all of it were heaped upon me even further. Did you never divine that I loved you more than anyone else was possible of loving? Did you not realize that the Uchiha, though he loved you mind, body, and soul, could never have come close to the amount of affection I had for you? _You_ left me and _you _believed Kabuto's lies! And yet I do not harbor anger against you! Your well-being is always on my mind and I will not nurse any loathing whatsoever for the simple reason that it would be detrimental to your already depreciated state. I can hardly bear to look at you! You are doomed to die, Sakura! How can I live with that?"

Sakura's tears had followed fast on Gaara's and the two stood there, holding each other and sobbing. The wept for a good ten minutes with no more words of regret or anguish, but only sobs that communicated so much more.

"Forgive me." Sakura's voice seemed to echo through the soul of the heartbroken Gaara. He lifted her in his arms, their eyes locked and knowledgeable of no one else. With a small movement, Gaara brought his lips to hers and they stood there, their kiss speaking volumes. Sakura's head fell towards her chest and she let out a sigh before Gaara knew she had slipped into the heavy sleep of exhaustion.

Falling to his knees, he held his prize in his arms, with no gratification or joy. He felt that he had gained what he desired only to know that it would soon be taken from him. He felt like every bone in his body was broken, stricken of the will to do anything. What point was there?

_I failed her._

Raising his eyes, there was mad resolution in them. A desire to keep his darling as long as possible burned like fire in the pupil lacking orbs. Standing, he supported her head as he began to bound through the trees, not caring an atom whether Kabuto chased him or not.

_He knows I'll come back when I no longer have her._

--

Kabuto watched Gaara bound away with Sakura in his arms. He had seen the smoldering eyes and knew that pursuit and conflict would simply make things difficult.

_Allow the fool to come to me. What will he do when she is gone? All will to live will be stripped from that pathetic being and he will come back and do whatever I tell him. He will have nothing to survive for or impress or to even die for. So what does it matter to him? Let him leave!_

The man grinned sadistically. This was far too easy.

--

_Konoha is gone. Gaara destroyed it. Yet, there is no reason for sorrow. Why should I weep? I am under the shadow of a very strange sentiment. If Gaara had died and I had all of Konoha safe and sound, what would I have gained from it? Naruto is alive and that is one consolation, but even without such comfort, I would feel the same way. I love him to the point that if nothing else was alive in this world except for him, I would enjoy the burden of living so much the better than if he ceased to be and everything was in its proper place and position._

_I have no desire to live without Sabaku no Gaara. It seems, though, that I will die before him. Better still. I would not survive his death._

_Will he survive mine?_

Sakura woke to find herself being carried through the treetops. She looked up to a very stoic Gaara, obviously deep in thought. It was not so deep, however, that he did not sense her waking for without glancing down he said, "We are going away for awhile."

"Where's Kabuto."

"Who cares?"

"I do."

"He is not with us and never will be while you are living."

"He will follow us."

"You are dying."

"And?"

"And he knows my weaknesses."

"Gaara-"

"We will not speak about this ever again." The gravity of the boy's voice was so deep that Sakura grew quiet and decided to honor this request. "Alright. Where are we going?"

"Away. Somewhere far away where we can be together while you..." Gaara blinked a few times and seemed to cough, to hide a sob in reality, before continuing. "Somewhere where you can recover sufficiently."

"The Snow Country."

Gaara gave her a questioning look.

"I want to live somewhere with a lot of ice."

For an instant, Gaara seemed to smile at her request as one would smile at the idea of gratifying a small child's desires. "As you wish." With those words, the sand-nin changed his course slightly towards a new goal with a new purpose.

"You will survive Sakura."

"I will try."

The two gripped each other tighter and Sakura could swear that she saw trace joy across the face of her love as the flew past endless branches and leaves.


	10. The New Desert Rose

Gaara was blessed with one year. One year of complete bliss and happiness. One year to spend loving and caring for the woman he loved. One year that brought joy and heartbreak, smiles and tears, sunshine and rain.

It also brought beginnings and endings. The former was personified in the birth of a daughter while the latter was defined by the death of a wife.

Two months after the birth of their child, whom they named Takara, Sakura's condition began to decline rapidly. She often fell into long fits of coughing that would confine her to bed rest for days on end. Gaara had to remind himself (and sometimes be reminded by the anxious mother) to take care of his baby, for he had a habit of forgetting everything except the green eyes that he loved; and it was nothing less than murder to ask him to remove his gaze from them for any span of time.

On the first of December, being the day they first arrived in the Snow Country, Sakura and Gaara were walking through a silent, icy forest, the child resting in Sakura's arms. She seemed distracted with an uncommon happiness that filled her eyes with a rarely seen light. Gaara watched her anxiously, afraid of the presentiment he felt when he looked at those orbs of preternatural illumination. Finally, he stopped her by laying his hand on her arm.

"Why do you look like that?"

Sakura turned to look at him, seeming slightly put out that he had disturbed her reflections, but she smiled good-naturedly. "It is exactly the type of night that I wished to die on, Gaara."

"You wish to die?"

"I do not _wish_ for it to happen, no. But it is inevitable and you and I have known it. Why do you give me such a look of surprise? We _have_ known it was coming and I was simply thinking that this would be the perfect night to end it."

"You are a cruel woman."

"You must never call me that again. I am dying. And who knows, but I won't be dead in a few hours?"

"What about our daughter?"

"What can I do? There is nothing that can stop this illness, though I had you for a time of happiness and Takara has brought us such joy. My will to live left me the day I left you behind. It was too long ago and too deeply embedded in my consciousness for you to dream of a recovery at this stage of the malady."

"Sakura..." The girl placed her lips against his.

"Come to terms with it. I do not wish to see you sink into despair when I am gone."

"You must not leave me tonight."

"I must and I shall. I am tired of living in this body so worn out and useless. I gave all my remaining strength to the one I am holding at present and there is nothing left for me to survive for. I could not recover. You knew that."

"I always hoped you would prove me wrong."

"I never did. I knew it was impossible."

Silence prevaded over the couple. Both seemed to find comfort in staring at the infant in Sakura's embrace. In her was a future for Gaara and a death for his better half. Gaara could hardly bear to look at it; he seemed to find a perverse way to blame the baby for its mother's untimely passing.

Gaara suddenly became aware that Sakura's grasp seemed to loosen to the point of it being dangerous and he caught Takara just in time to see Sakura slipping to the forest floor. With wide, panicked eyes, Gaara lifted one in each hand and carried them as quickly as he was able to the small cabin that they lived in.

The night wore on with the man trying to restore Sakura to her senses, which he did briefly. She sat up for a few minutes, enough time to kiss Gaara and extract a promise that he would never stop taking care of their little girl. The vow was hard-wrenched and Sakura realized that Kabuto's influence might prove too much for the heartbroken and devoid lover. Placing another kiss on his forehead, her head fell to the pillow and she closed her eyes.

Sakura never woke up.

The hours dragged by. Gaara consoled himself with useless ideas of her being in a deep slumber. But he knew very well that she was not to wake. He sat next to the kunoichi's bed, holding his daughter and mesmerizing himself in the green eyes that she had inherited from her mother.

"I don't know how to love you. How can I? You are just like her and I can hardly bear to look at her now that she is gone. Takara (1) you are named for you are our treasure, but there is no longer an "our". I feel that I am capable of giving you only half the love that you deserve. And there is one to whom I feel that I must return, not out of desire, but compulsion. But I promised..."

Gaara tried to choke out the name of 'Sakura' but a sob caught his throat. The infant looked up at him solemnly as if it fully comprehended all that her father said. In truth, it was merely the countenance of the man that drew such expression into her eyes, for she puppeted what she saw from her parents as all children do.

"You will remain in someone else's care. And you will learn the meaning of loneliness so that when you meet one to end it, you can fully appreciate its closure."

The sand-nin rose and left the house. In the next few days he would bury his wife and seek for someone to raise Takara. That someone came in the form of a solemn nin with sapphire eyes and blonde hair. One who complied with Gaara's request simply because the child was Sakura's.

"I despise you, Kazekage. You deserve the pain she is putting you through. I take Takara for her mother's sake and spare your life for the same reason."

"There is nothing for it. I cannot love the child as I should, Uzumaki. Rebuild Konoha with her help, for she will be quite strong if she is anything like _her_."

"Build it for who? There is no one left."

"I spared your life because I believed you would find a way."

"I should punch you in the face. Or kill you."

"I will leave then."

And Gaara did leave, escaping the memories and attachments that he had clung to. Running to a hopeless doom because he believed that all he had loved in the world to be lost completely. Naruto watched him run until he disappeared entirely from his keen sight. He glanced down at the child in his arms.

She was a real beauty, a true daughter of Haruno Sakura. She had the aforemetioned emerald eyes, along with very pale, creamy skin, and small features which were made stern by the influence of her father. The only characteristic she seemed to have recieved from Gaara was beautiful, silky red hair. It was the one trait that was untouched by her mother.

"You have your father's personality."

The girl cooed and waved her hand in front of the boy's troubled blue eyes, managing to evince a small smile from her caretaker.

"Do not turn out like him."

--

Kabuto smiled at the stirring body of Uchiha Sasuke. It had been simple work retrieving the boy after putting him under at jutsu that gave the appearance of death. Kabuto had kept him alive and unconscious for more than a year, waiting for that blasted kunoichi to die.

The plan had worked perfectly.

Kabuto had planted that infamous notebook from which Tsunade got the idea of the rescue mission for the Uchiha. She probably would have preferred to do it herself, but it would be dangerous for her to leave the village. So she had sent the only other person capable of pulling off the task. This brought Sakura to Orochimaru's lair and lured Gaara along with her. Counting on the power of heartbreak, he had split Gaara and Sakura by means of a web of deception and cruelty which killed the girl just as he wanted. Konoha was destroyed along with two of the greatest medic-nins, the only ones capabale of performing such jutsus to seal away Orochimaru's soul. Kabuto used his own power to make Sakura's seal weak and temporary and also made allowances for Orochimaru to bide his time without detriment as long as he was imprisoned in her hand. Now that she was dead, Gaara was his tool to be used however he desired and the soul that had been sealed away broke free from Sakura and found its way back to the body it coveted.

Sasuke's, or rather Orochimaru's, eyes opened.

"Kabuto, your plan was brilliant."

The medic-nin smirked to himself. Yes, it was indeed a brilliant plan.

"Orochimaru-sama, I hope you did not suffer any ill effects?"

"None whatsoever. It was completely flawless."

"Will the Kazekage destroy Suna, or do you suppose he retains an attachment?"

"He will do whatever we wish. His precious wife is gone and he has given up his child to another nin. He has no desire to live at all."

"His child?"

"Yes, a daughter. And it is important that we discuss her while we are on the topic. I have managed to...taint her with a bit of my influence while she was unborn."

"Taint?"

"Yes, I will reveal the full scheme later. Simply another tool that we might find rather useful when Gaara loses all potential. Now we need only wait for the man himself to come. It should be a matter of days. And there are more important things for us to do besides having him destroy Suna. However, these things will require us to bide our time. Be patient, Kabuto."

"Understood."

Orochimaru smiled. Everything was working out as they wanted.

--

_"It's by your own choice that you die. I do not pity you or feel sorry for you. I am angry at your selfishness to give up. Die if you please, Temari. I will kill Orochimaru myself."_

_"I do not wish for you to be angry. If you lost her, you would do the same."_

_"Her?"_

_"Don't play dumb, it's annoying."_

_"I would not roll over and die."_

_"You say that now."_

Gaara's eyes saddened as he flew through the treetops. Heartbreak had never made itself more known than now. Even that day when Sakura claimed she did not love him seemed miniscule in comparison to this. At least then she had been alive and it was still possible to hear her voice and see her face.

There would be none of that now. _Temari was right._

Gaara clutched at his chest, the full pain of his aching heart began to set in. This 'wound of the heart' was far greater than any other Gaara had gone through before. A realization came with the pain. He was dying. It was only a matter of time.

There was no reason for him to live anymore.

--

Perhaps if Gaara had consented to keep the child, he would have learned how to love and cherish someone else rather than sink into the despair he found himself in. Maybe the girl would have taught him that life could go on even at the loss of someone precious. But it is useless to dwell on what-ifs and could-have-beens. Takara would not be part of the man's life for a long time.

The next seventeen years of this unfortunate history would pass with very little event or circumstance worthy of being narrated. The Desert Rose would bloom again in the form of a pretty kunoichi with green, solemn eyes, pale skin, and fiery red hair. Naruto would take her to Suna to be raised in the village of her father's family. At the very early age of thirteen, she became the strongest sand-nin in the village; an undisputable genius in shinobi arts and with a certain aptitude for medical skills. Before she would hear anything of her father, Takara would become Kazekage at fifteen and was said to be a very kind, though reserved leader.

The skills of the sand-nin did not stay secret very long. A mere two years after Takara became Kazekage, Orochimaru, fully reclaimed in his power though still refraining from open war against the Hidden Villages, would hear of her prowess. Growing bored and beginning to feel the effects of age, the man began to form a hideous plan that involved passing his soul from the less appealing Sasuke to the more youthful and promising Takara.

Gaara, still living in spite of the void in his heart, also heard of his daughter's greatness and began to fear the covetousness of Orochimaru. He desired a reunion between himself and his daughter and went off to find Uzumaki Naruto on the eve of the girl's seventeenth birthday.

**Footnote:**

**(1) Takara means 'treasure' in Japanese.**

**Author's Note:**

**Here ends Part 1 of the Desert Rose story. I will continue to write on this same thread with Part 2, but I felt that a measure of closure was appropriate for this chapter.**

**I appreciate all the wonderful reviews. Many of them inspire me immensely, so don't stop writing them!**

**Love**

**  
Manwaithiel**


	11. Another Strange Friendship

Gaara walked through the streets of Suna in the dead of night. It was well after two in the morning, the sun had not risen and everyone except for the night sentries was fast asleep. The old Kazekage knew how to avoid them easily. He did not spend the last seventeen years under Orochimaru for nothing.

He could hear his footsteps sound, quiet as they were, in the deserted streets. He felt like a ghost invading the peace of a well-established community. The guard of the Hidden Villages was down considerably since nothing extraordinary had happened since the Destruction of Konohagakure. Normalcy seemed to be returning. Only Gaara knew how wrong that was.

It was a new moon, and the darkness was thicker than usual. The sand-nin moved swiftly to the house he had grown up in, the one he could have found his way through in the dark. Takara would be living there now; she was their Kazekage at present, a real beauty and genius in ninja technique it was said. Her repetoire had even hit upon the ear of Orochimaru.

Gaara reached the front door of the mansion. His eyes could just barely make out the shape of a tall, strong figure coming towards him. He waited patiently.

"I was wondering when you were going to come."

"So my message did get through."

"Yes it did."

"How is she, Uzumaki?"

"Very well in all respects. Your visit might shake her nerves, however."

"She'll live."

"Is that all you can say about your daughter, Gaara?"

"I do not mean it maliciously. But if what I've heard is correct, she is much more level-headed than you seem to be giving her credit for."

"The visit of a long lost father would shake-up the most level-headed of people."

"How much have you told her?"

"Everything you told me."

Gaara said nothing more, but went past Naruto through the front door of the mansion. "Don't wake her yet. I'll talk to her in the morning."

Naruto nodded, bowed, and headed back up the stairs, locking the door before he left.

The man looked about him. He had no desire to sleep on the couch he was sitting on. The familiarity of everything kept him wide awake. Memories of a less than desirable childhood came crashing back.

_Who knew I'd be here one day, looking for my daughter who became their Kazekage? It seems too unreal._

Gaara's appearance was severaly altered. His eyes, instead of being calm and collected, had an everlasting yearning in them, as if they saw a prize that no one else saw and spent every waking moment longing for it. His once fire-red hair had grayed considerably and it was almost impossible to find its original color. Wrinkles had formed on his forehead and around his eyes. Everything was a testament to a lifetime of hardship and sorrow.

The man's character was far more twisted than his visage. His desire for love and comfort had evaporated in years past. He longed for the society of no one and did not trust a living soul. His insomnia returned to him, stemming from his own mistrust of the human race. He killed because he was told to, for his once existentialist nature of killing for a purpose no longer interested him. There was but one person sacred to this mechanical act, only because of a promise made to a long-dead wife. Takara it was that he refused to touch. Even if the desire came over him, the thought of her green eyes, for they were her mother's eyes, stayed his hand. No command of Orochimaru's or Kabuto's could budge him from his vow.

Still, he did not love his daughter. It was a condition worthy of pity, but pity was something that Gaara refused to let anyone give him. So he earned only malice and hate. He was far too used to both sentiments to care.

The dawn began to creep over the horizon. Gaara heard footsteps on the staircase and turned to see who approached.

A young woman with beautiful china skin, very tall and elegant looking, emerged. She wore a pair of black pants that cut off just above the ankles, shinobi shoes, and a green shirt with silver buttons down the middle and sleeves that hung from her elbows like bells, hugging the skin from the elbow to the shoulder. Her eyes were a gorgeous emerald green, set among thick lashes. She had long silky, super straight red hair. Her countenance was stern and her eyes solemn and devoid of emotion.

Gaara almost choked. The girl was the spinning image of Sakura when she was that age, excepting the red hair. That alone was his mark on their child.

It was obvious by the look in those eyes that she knew percisely who he was. Yet, her face remained indifferent and aloof. After a quick inspection, she gave him a look that seemed to peer into his very soul.

"Why have you come?"

"I must fulfill a promise."

"To whom? You have never once vowed anything to me."

"Not to be rude, Kazekage-sama, but I have not and would never vow anything to you."

Takara's eyes flashed briefly. She was angry, that much was plain. Her compusure was easily replaced, however, and she arched her eyebrow as if asking him to explain himself further.

"You are in danger, Kazekage-sama."

"Indeed. Most of the Kages are throughout their lives. What is so particularly fascinating about that detail?"

"You know of Orochimaru?"

"I do. Though not quite as well as _you_ do I'm sure." Her voice was filled with spite.

_She hates me already. It's of no consequence, I harbor no extreme affection for her either._ "I promised your mother you would remain safe."

"As if you cared about my mother. I should think that by your past actions and your present occupation, you held no love for her at all."

Now it was Gaara's turn to be angry. His look was one of absolute scorn and malice. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I do not trust you. I am only confounded as to why you wasted your time coming to warn me about someone whom all the Hidden Villages are on guard against."

"It seems rather slack."

"Not in this village."

"I snuck in easily."

"You had outside help under _my_ orders. Now explain your frivolous actions at once."

"Uzumaki told you of Orochimaru's forbidden technique."

"He did."

"He seeks a new vessel."

"My own I suppose."

"Percisely."

"Your message has been given and it was pointless for I had such suspicions anyway. Leave."

"Who has taught you to be so cruel?"

"My father."

Gaara's gaze was stunned. He did not expect this.

"I am not like this with anyone else except for you. I love and I laugh, I even smile, but the moment I heard you wished to see me after seventeen years, joy was a rather distant emotion for such an occasion."

"So you hate me?"

"On the contrary, I love you because you are my father and I know you were not always as you are now. That fact _alone_ keeps me from hating you. But as far as affection goes, I am sadly lacking."

"I see."

"Please leave this village. It is a compromise to the safety of its inhabitants. I took a great risk letting you come."

"I will be quick."

"Thank you."

"Takara..."

The girl was about to head off, and Naruto had come to escort the man out. She turned to face her father again.

"I loved you once. Hold me blameless in the fact that I no longer do."

Her eyes clouded over and she simply motioned him away as she turned towards the stairs. She disappeared from sight as quickly as she came.

Gaara stared after her before Naruto pulled him away. "She is her mother's daughter." Naruto nodded in agreement.

--

Takara was not like most seventeen year olds. She was probably one of the youngest Kazekages, aside from her father, and most certainly the youngest woman. Everyone knew of her parentage and the unfortunate history behind it. Many claimed that her father was someone to despise while her mother was someone to honor. They all felt betrayed by Gaara whom they had entrusted with the position of Kazekage. Very few knew the details of his life after he went out to search for Sakura and therefore very few had any pity for the man. All hoped that his daughter would not turn out like he did.

Though she was the town beauty and was very kind at heart, she had very few friends. One was a boy named Ren who was a childhood playmate. He was not anything like the girl. Outgoing, energetic, positive, he was everything Takara was not. In spite of their differences, the two had some similar traits. Both were kind and forgiving, though Takara's heart was far more reserved than Ren's. Naruto had been especially pleased with their friendship. He had once feared that Takara's propensity to be silent would keep her from having chums altogether. Not so with Ren; and the man was glad.

Takara was also far stronger than anyone else in her village. She had learned quickly from Naruto, a talent she had picked up from her mother he didn't doubt, and her ninja techniques were spectacular. All felt safe under her guardianship, for Takara cared for her village more than she cared for herself.

Yes, Takara was not like most seventeen year olds. And most days she had no problems with it. But today was one of those days when she wished she was not in such a position of extreme pressure.

At the moment, the Kazekage was sitting at her window, ignoring the huge stack of paperwork that lay on the desk behind her. It was a gorgeous day, with the sun shining in all its brilliancy and the wind scooping up the sand that she had always loved and turning it into mini twisters. The desert-loving flowers were in bloom everywhere, for winter did not come until late December here and it was now only September. The first to be exact...her birthday. It seemed as if everyone but Naruto had forgotten that.

_That's what happens when you don't have friends..._

Just as she was in the middle of these melancholy thoughts, which were not very typical of her anyway, she heard her door burst open. Takara turned to see Ren running into the room, a stupid grin plastered across his face. She couldn't help but smile at his absurd look.

"What on earth-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The boy beamed and shoved a colorfully wrapped package into her hand.

Takara giggled and then grew quiet as she opened the gift. Lifting the lid, she saw something glisten from undernearth some tissue paper.

"What is-"

"Take it out!" Ren almost never let Takara finish a sentence.

Takara did as he requested and gasped in shock and delight. It was a lovely emerald set in a lightweight silver starburst with a long, delicate-looking silver chain.

"R-Ren!" she stuttered, "it's beautiful!"

"I thought you would like it. It looks just like your eyes! Put it on and look in your mirror."

Takara did look and had to agree that her eyes and the stone matched perfectly.

"The chain looks breakable, but it's actually made with a very old and special sealing technique. That chain will never break."

"How did you come across something like that?"

"I made it."

Takara gaped.

"It's true!" he cried, laughing. "My father used to be a gem setter. He taught me that special technqiue. Don't worry, it doesn't constantly use chakra, it's just connected to my own."

"It's really pretty, Ren...thank you." Takara found herself blushing.

The boy grinned. "You have to promise me you'll always wear it. Promise?"

"I promise." Takara traced the gem with an absent-minded finger. "I thought everyone had forgotten my birthday.

"Of course not, you silly thing! How would I - who has never, ever forgotten your birthday I might add - forget? On your _seventeenth_ no less! One year short of the big one!"

The girl laughed. "I guess it _was_ silly."

"I heard your father visited today."

Takara was silent. Ren looked at her knowing full well that this disturbed her. "What did he say?"

"He warned me about Orochimaru."

"Why did he feel the need to do that?"

"It was something in particular."

"Oh." Ren did not pry. He never pried when it came to Takara. He knew that if she wanted to tell him something, she would do it on her own time. Luckily, both were spared the awkward silence with the entrance of Naruto.

"Kazekage-sama, haven't you finished that paperwork yet?"

Takara looked bashful. "No...Ren was giving me my birthday gift."

"Oh. Well, in that case it's all right, but you really should get to work."

"I know."

Ren nodded. "I better leave."

"Okay. I'll try and escape when I get some work done."

"If you get out in time I'll buy you dinner."

"Sounds great."

Ren turned and left the room.

Takara leaned back in her chair, fingering the necklace and lost herself in thought. _Orochimaru might want my body...not that I'd give it over willingly...but I better keep my guard up. Who knows what he's capable of doing? After all, he split up my parents with his tricks. I have to be careful._

"Kazekage-sama..."

"I'm working on it, Naruto-san!"

Naruto laughed. "I was just wondering if you wanted coffee or something?"

"Oh...well, yes. Thank you!" She heard the bang of the door as Naruto went off in search of beverages.

Takara turned back to her desk. _I better get to work._

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, so y'all were all like "This is so depressing, blah blah blah." Well it's finally lightened up a little bit, eh? Don't worry I wasn't going to banish you to darkness forever. There is still some sadness to come, but making it "all angst, all the time" would be pretty emo and stupid. :)**

**Hey, guess what? Keep reviewing. If you think I don't pay attention to your reviews you are sadly mistaken! They're good for keeping me on track, inspiration, and ideas for enhancing certain elements of the story.**

**I'd like to thank 'Heart's Door', 'Kioji', and the other five or six people who wrote more than just "It's good, update soon."**

**Love**

**Manwaithiel**


	12. An Unexpected Proposal

_"Naruto-san?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"What was my mom like?"_

_"Why do you want to know?"_

_"Well...I never knew her after all. I know she died when I was a baby. But I want to know what she looked like, what she did, what she was good at..."_

_Naruto smiled at the eight-year-old's request. "Alright, let's see. Well, you know your mother was named Haruno Sakura before she married your father. She was very bright, smart and quick-witted. She was probably one of the prettier kunoichis in Konoha...did I ever tell you I had a crush on your mother when we were young?"_

_"You did?" the girl squealed._

_The man grinned. "Yeah, I did. That was a long time ago, though. Anyway, you look just like her, except for your hair. While you have your father's red locks, she had bubblegum pink hair that was long before it got caught off during the Chunin exams."_

_"Chunin exams?"_

_"I'll explain that later. Sakura did have a way of expressing herself. She had a great deal of abnormal strength...I was certainly punched in the face enough times to remember! She could whine a lot. But it never really bothered anyone except the Uchiha that we used to be teammates with."_

_"What happened to him?"_

_"He...died...from a very forbidden technique."_

_"What technique?"_

_"Another time, Takara. So, she became the Hokage's apprentice to learn how to be a doctor. You remember who the Hokage was, right?"_

_Takara nodded._

_"Well, Tsunade, the Hokage, was a medical specialist. And Sakura turned out to be very good at what she did. She learned quickly. You probably get your own healing skills from your mother. She eventually became very strong in other ways too. She used to have these two hour training sessions with some of Konoha's top nins. She...was amazing..." Naruto grew quiet._

_Takara looked at him gravely. "How did she die?" she whispered._

_Naruto looked back at the girl, with troubled eyes. "Your father and Sakura had a misunderstanding. It broke their hearts, and Sakura died from it eventually. Your father...is still dying from it."_

_"But he's not dead."_

_"No."_

_"How come he didn't die when mom died?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"That's not fair."_

_"Don't be too hard on your father, Takara. There's a lot about him you don't understand and that you can't understand just yet."_

_"Why isn't he here? With me? Does he hate me?"_

_"Your father most certainly does not hate you. I would say that he loves you because he gave you up when he was afraid that he couldn't give you the life you deserved."_

_"You hated him, didn't you Naruto-san?"_

_"Yes...for awhile. I eventually learned his motives and am more sympathetic."_

_Takara grew quiet._

_"Let's go get some ramen, Takara."_

_"You always say that when you want to change the subject."_

_"It works doesn't it?"_

_The girl laughed. "Okay, fine. But you're buying!"_

_"I always do, silly."_

_Naruto took the young girl's hand and led her to their favorite ramen stand in Suna. He never noticed that Takara had a troubled look on her face the entire way there._

--

Takara opened her eyes and looked around. She was sprawled out on a sand dune, taking in the night air and dozing beneath the stars. The day had been murder to the poor Kazekage. It had taken her until five o'clock in the evening to finish everything. Ren had come by and brought food with him which gave her a break for about an hour and a half. Then she had to train. She quit at about nine o'clock and had ambled over to this dune to relax.

Her mind, without her realizing it, began to click back to times when she was younger and more naive. Naruto had protected her from the ugly truth about her parents until she was thirteen. By then, she was asking questions that were hard to answer and was too old to be distracted by random ramen trips. So her guardian finally began to tell her what she wanted to know. However, it wasn't until she was sixteen that he had sat her down and told her absolutely everything that he knew about her parents. How they had met, their friendship, Orochimaru, Uchiha Sasuke, the heartbreak, Sakura's strange illness, Konoha's destruction, her mother's death, and her father's coutenance afterwards and reasoning for giving Takara to Naruto.

She grew to be rather angry at her father after that. It took several more talks with the headstrong red-head to convince her that Gaara did not hate her.

"You look tired."

Takara turned her head to see Ren walking towards her. She smiled and turned her attention back to the stars. Ren picked a spot next to her to lay on, enjoying a quiet moment before Takara spoke.

"Thank you again for the birthday gift. It is, honestly, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

"Only the best for you, Takara."

They let their conversation turn to topics of idle conversation, important between friends but nonetheless useless. Takara never engaged in such a session of wasted words with anyone else excepting the friend to her immediate right. The two nins did not realize that their every move was being watched by a man with spiky grayish-red hair and dark eyes. He was gazing intently at the two shinobi; they played a similar picture in the man's memory, one that roused old and nearly forgotten memories.

_He looks at her the same way I used to look at her mother. And just like her mother, she has no idea how much he loves her._

He had not hurt for awhile. The ache of Sakura's death was seldom felt and never so much so as it did at that moment. Gaara clutched his chest, his eyes shining with emotion but never turning to tears.

Gaara had wanted to die for so long, that the ache of living without his darling heart hardly bothered him. He let himself become desensitized to the pain he feared would make him vulnerable. But the combination of seeing his daughter (who looked so much like her mother!) and the sight of two chums talking in sometimes friendly, sometimes serious tones under the stars had given rise to the agony he suffered without Sakura.

He was, quite literally, an empty shell without her.

Gaara turned away, unable to observe the increasingly familiar scene. His footsteps began to take him, like a trained dog, to Orochimaru's palace. He disappeared behind some sand dunes and continued trudging on his way. If he had been more sensitive to his surroundings rather than absorbed in his thoughts and memories, he might have sensed a disturbing and well-known aura. Had he realized it was there, he would have tracked down its maker and stopped him in his tracks.

A man with glasses and gray hair appeared from behind a dune, smiling as he watched Gaara fade off into the horizon. Kabuto scanned his surroundings before heading off in Takara's direction.

_Her father has unwittingly played his part in our plan. Orochimaru will be pleased that he did as he predicted._

The sound-nin crept over the sand dunes, masking his aura and waiting for Ren to leave Takara. It took several hours, but finally the boy stood, waved good-bye to the Kazekage and began to make his return to the Suna metropolis. It was time for Kabuto to make his move.

He got within a few feet of Takara, before realizing that something wasn't quite right with her. She had not moved since the boy had walked away. She seemed unnaturally still. Almost...

_Oh, no._

"What business do you have with me? Most visitors do not try and sneak up behind me while I am talking with friends in the dunes."

Kabuto turned to see a calm, yet angry Takara. Her arms were folded in front of her with the air of one in full control of the situation as she indeed was.

"Speak!"

"Kazekage-sama," he replied when he finally got over the shock of being anticipated. "I suppose it was silly to believe I could fool the great Sabaku no Takara."

"I seek no words from you unless they form an explanation as to why you are trespassing my city."

"I apologize. My name is Kabuto. My master is the Sannin, Orochimaru-sama."

"Former Sannin you mean."

Kabuto colored. "He is a great nin nonetheless."

"Doubtless, a subordinate like you can only see his power. There is very little appeal in that name or fear in its connotation. And since you have revealed yourself, by such title as "Orochimaru's servant", to be an enemy of the shinobi world and especially detestable to me, you should be quick to explain why I should not have you executed where you stand."

The man glared at her. The Kazekage waxed cross at this display of temper. "Do not cloud your face or scowl in my direction. I am far more powerful than you dream and I certainly hold a higher rank than a mere underling to a S-class criminal. Kabuto is it not? That name rings a bell of personal grudge that, in my fancy, I could use to have you killed for the simple reason that you caused the death of my mother and the suffering of my father. Should I not hate you? I can tell I despise you immensely for I very seldom use so many words on one so insignificant. Hence, you shall clear your expression of any insubordination such as that and explain yourself _at once._"

The Kazekage's eyes were filled with blazing rage and passionate anger, though her facade remained cool and indifferent. Kabuto had turned a shade of deep purple at this degrading speech, but feared Takara, knowing that she did not idly brag of her power by bluff.

"Kazekage-_sama_," the man spat, "Obviously you care for the father that you saw but once-and that was today-so I have come to offer you a proposal you might find interesting. Orochimaru's vessel grows old. He seeks a new one. He also has the power to wage war against Suna and eradicate yet another Hidden Village. To prevent such a massacre and to protect the sand-nins as you have sworn to do, he requests that you find him a body that will satisfy his whims and if you cannot produce one, to offer yourself as a replacement for your failure. If you choose not to cooperate, the full power of your father will be tested and then the love your father bears you will be put to an extreme test of sorts."

"Silence your insolent tongue! How dare you come here pretending that I fear you and that I care one atom for Orochimaru's threats? He may march all the armies in the world against us and I will not budge an inch. We will fight to the death. We are not the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. We have very little space in our hearts for soft spots and killing you will be a pleasure. Take that message to your master. I am aware that you probably designed it so my father visited me today out of concern for my well-being, purposely planting thoughts such as these in his ear. You believed it would soften me? You know nothing of me or my village. I am not Haruno Sakura. Your lack of judement should shame you into rethinking such endeavors again!

Kabuto gaped at the Kazekage, who remained cool on the exterior though her eyes revealed a strong mind and scornful air. He narrowed his eyes, not quite expecting such a steel-willed woman.

"Orochimaru will have his vessel. And we will obtain it through any means: open war or otherwsie."

"You cannot shake my decision. Leave before I kill you."

Kabuto turned, still fearing Takara's power and being a coward through and through, he made his exit heading in the direction the girl's father had taken minutes earlier.

Takara watched the man leave, her blood still boiling and her eyes dancing with fire. She turned away and began her trek to Suna, her mind clicking away at the day's events.

_They set me up._ Biting her lips, Takara tried to force herself to remain calm and emotionless.

_And we will obtain it through any means: open war or otherwise..._

They probably meant to use her father against her, or lure her to them through Gaara. The Kazekage clenched her fists, finally beginning to empathize with a woman she had till then considered weak.

_Must have been the hardest decision in the world, Mother._

--

Ren relaxed in his bed, gazing out his windows at the numerous stars and letting his thoughts play about the image of a certain red-haired nin with green eyes and milky white skin.

His eyes wandered over to his desk where the tools from making that emerald necklace were still scattered about, gold shavings sparatically covering the floor. He had spent many an hour at his task, enjoying every minute of it, losing himself in the luster of the emerald, and convinced that it still made no comparison to Takara's shining orbs.

_I poured all my love for that darling in that necklace. Everything that is fine and true and beautiful about her sparkles in that emerald. She would think me silly for thinking in such romantic and poetic thought, but it is true and expressive to my taste. Every gleam in that necklace is an "I love you" and though she does not acknowledge it yet, the fact that she enjoys its beauty is a sign that she will one day interpret the message._

Ren stared up at the ceiling. He had loved Takara since they were children, playing games and training together. He grew up without parents, as she did, but he did not have the benefit of a guardian. Despite his lack of an ideal living situation, he was always the most cheerful and shyed away from melancholy thoughts. As he grew older, he learned how to listen to Takara's sad reflections with sympathy rather than uneasiness. The pair had become inseparable by age twelve. As they entered their teens, Ren would realize that he could love no one else.

One can compare Takara and Ren to Sakura and Gaara. Both were the best of friends and in both cases, the male character was the first to romantic affection. But Gaara and Ren were polar opposites as far as their personalities were concerned. While Gaara was reserved, quiet, and unobvious about his emotions, Ren expressed them easily and Takara was subconsciously aware of his affection. Ren's love was tender and heartfelt, while Gaara's was fierce and jealous. The two women in both instances were very similar in most respects except for the fact that Takara was a kind, loving person to her villagers, though rather silent and melancholy, while Sakura lacked a great deal of sympathy.

Ren had no inkling of these paradoxes. All he knew was that he loved Takara as he loved himself and more. Everything he did was centered around making her happy and keeping her comfortable and safe. He had been watching Takara as she dealt with Kabuto, after learning that she wanted to implement some genjutsu to lure him out of his hiding place. She instructed him to keep watch on the situation, interfering only when necessary. She walked away, unscathed yet extremely angry and fired up over what had been said. Takara refused to tell him and he did not push his luck by pressing for details. He had simply escorted her home and went his own way.

His love was about to be tested and the relationship would soon go under significant strain. Takara's life would soon echo sadly in tune with the fate of her parents.

**Author's Note:**

**History has a sick way of repeating itself.**

**Will it...or will it not?**

**I would like to ask that you guys check out my other stories, "The Saga of the Auralen Twins" and "An Auarlen's Footsteps". I don't think they're as good as "Desert Rose" but I would like some feedback!**

**Manwaithiel**


	13. Naruto's Plea

Gaara was on his knees, his fingers traced a few faded words in a marble, ice-covered slab. The snow was falling in gentle drifts and everything was _silent_. It was one of those snowy days where it feels like everything has frozen in time except for the crystallized water droplets building up around you. It was an especially fitting mood for a graveyard.

_The 'Desert Rose' _

_Frozen in Time_

_Haruno Sakura_

It was grave and simple, just as he who wrote it was grave and simple. The man let his dark eyes search every inch of the tombstone, as if convinced it was all a horrible nightmare. A chill revived his senses.

_You weren't supposed to die...Sakura._

_You were strong. You were brave. You were loved. You took a risk and you died because of it. You didn't deserve death. You didn't deserve to suffer so much while the Uchiha mentally abused you. _

_You didn't deserve any of that. _

"She looked just like you."

His voice echoed through the still, wintry air. He felt that the entire graveyard, all the dead, were listening.

"And yet, she was not you. I don't know why I expected that."

Gaara had no idea what he was getting out of this speech to emptiness. Probably nothing.

"Takara...loves me..."

He grew silent, mostly because he was not entirely sure what he should say. At any rate, the snowdrifts seemed completely unfeeling to his circumstances.

"Sakura would be proud of a daughter like Takara, Gaara."

The man turned to see a nin with blond, spiky hair and sapphire blue eyes. "Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded. "But I think someone is trying to steal your treasure."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, pondering what that cryptic statement was supposed to mean.

"Explain."

--

Takara let out a cry of pain, clutching her neck. This mysterious illness, which at first only prevented her from training, was beginning to interfere with her daily life as Kazekage.

It had been a week since Gaara had seen her. The day after she had encountered Kabuto, a strange malady began to give her neck pains and creating problems with her chakra control and various techniques. She had been confined to bed rest for about three days and had decided to try some light training after them. But the slightest exertion on her chakra circulatory system almost caused Takara to pass out. The pain was unbearable and felt like fire was running through her veins.

The Kazekage now gasped, struggling to breathe properly. The condition was starting to frighten her immensely.

There were more serious symptoms that were beginning to worry her.

--

"Kabuto approached Takara about a week ago, the night you left as a matter of fact. Ever since he came, she had been suffering from a strange sickness. But perhaps it is not so strange."

"Stop speaking in riddles and tell me what is wrong with Takara."

"She is exhibiting symptoms that Orochimaru has marked her with a very specialized cursed seal."

Gaara was silent. Naruto continued.

"It isn't like the Uchiha's. You can't see it. But she is in pain in one particular spot every time she tries to use chakra. It alters her techniques and even keeps her from breathing properly. She is constantly having nightmares. I am afraid that...when Sakura was pregnant with Takara, Orochimaru managed to get to the girl...in the womb. There is no other explanation because he requires close contact."

"Why the sudden appearance of it?"

"I think Kabuto triggered it somehow. There's no other logical explanation."

"What does she dream about?"

Naruto took a deep breath before replying. "Your death."

--

Takara grabbed the back of a chair in the living room of her house and screamed. The pain had practically trebled in the last few seconds. The more she fought the paroxysm, the more it seemed to rage in her trembling neck.

The Kazekage closed her eyes and fell to the ground, blinded by the agony that burned like white fire. Images began to fill her mind in this delusionary state; they were pictures and scenes of her life and of people she had never even seen before. The faces she saw started with Naruto and Ren and moved on to her father, then her mother and finally Kabuto. One face however began to flash through her mind at quicker intervals before it was finally the only thing that filled her thoughts. It was an evil, sadistic looking face with snake-like eyes framed with purple and skin so pale it was almost a very faint yellow. The person had long, dark hair and a menacing smile crossed his visage.

He began to talk to her.

It took forever before Takara began to understand a word he was saying. It appeared to be some sort of chant, like a mantra that ran on and on.

"What are you looking for, Takara? Do you seek me? Do you realize what I could give you? It is your fate, yes your fate, child, to be with me, to seek me and gain power from me. You wish for it. You lust for it. You'll come to _me_. It will never be the other way around."

This sort of dialogue ran on for what seemed to Takara to be hours upon hours. It was all pretty much centered around the central idea that Takara was fated to come to this villain in the plain tan robe.

"What...is...your name?" Takara finally gasped out despite the flaming pain that had now reached her temple.

The man smirked. "Why do you ask that, Takara? You've seen me before. Before you were born."

Takara felt that she was being lurched forward and she seemed to land in a desolate room. Two figures were in it. One was a pink-haired kunoichi in red garb who was carefully attending an apparently fallen comrade on the ground. He wore the same clothing the man she had just spoken with had been wearing and his features were the same and yet...it was not the same man. No, this man had short dark hair his skin was not nearly so pale.

The girl's attention quickly returned to the woman with pink hair and china skin who was tending him. The Kazekage's eyes grew wide when she saw the woman's face.

_It can't be..._

Having been told the dreadful history of her parents and about her mother's death, Takara quickly picked up on the scene. _He must be the Uchiha she was in love with. This was where Kabuto..._

Takara had the lurching sensation again and this time had landed in an identical room minus the two figures in the shadows. Yet another surge of the confounded pain shot through her neck sending her reeling.

"STOP IT!"

The girl hardly realized the words were her own. Without thinking she began to repeat her plea. "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" she screeched in an abnormally loud voice. Tears were falling fast down her cheeks at this point and her eyes were wide and bloodshot.

The man's face with the snake-like eyes reappeared. "This is your fate. Accept it." And he was gone.

Takara's eyes shot open and she found herself on the floor of her living room, crying without ceasing and shaking like a leaf. She closed her eyes again and took a breath in to calm herself not even sure that was possible. Panic and fury were coursing through her veins and it was all she could do to subdue it.

She lay there for a quarter of an hour, trying to compose herself from the various visions she had seen and the pain she had endured. Gulping in another breath of air, she shakily brought herself to her feet.

--

"My death?"

"When Sakura denied her love for you. When you essentially died. Do you remember?"

"How am I supposed to forget _that_?"

"Takara is seeing it. Over and over again. She sees Orochimaru too. I haven't told her about his being sealed inside Sakura yet."

"She is not a child, Uzumaki."

"She's seventeen. She still needs protection."

"Takara is Kazekage now. If she still needs protection then she should relinquish her position."

"How can you speak that way about your own daughter, Gaara?"

"I'm only telling you what's best for her. I was Kazekage once."

"And you did a fine job didn't you?" Naruto shot back.

The two grew silent, a long, awkward pause making talk difficult. "I didn't mean that, Gaara."

"It's true."

"No it isn't."

The two men fell quiet again and gazed at the tombstone for what seemed to be endless amounts of time. Time did not exist on those snow covered hills under their peaceful drifts and falling fluff. Gaara longed for the day when the freezing of time would come to him as well. It was lonely watching the minutes pass from day to day.

Naruto cleared his throat. "She needs her father."

"There is nothing I can do for Takara. I gave her over to you for that very reason."

"But, as you said, you were Kazekage once. She needs your help and advice."

"That girl...that shinobi queen...that treasure...she does not need someone like me. I needed her more than she needed me. You realize, Uzumaki, that Takara is ten times stronger than her mother? She is almost equal to Orochimaru. She is stronger than me at any rate, far quicker and more intelligent."

"But she is young and youthful. She is not yet as wise as you are in the ways of shinobi and their darkest sides. She is only now beginning to experience it."

"I think Orochimaru got to her first."

Naruto started for a moment. "Gaara! When will you start taking responsibility for her?"

"Don't scream at me, Uzumaki." Gaara lifted his dark eyes to a gray skies and watched the snow continue to fall. "I am _haunted_ by _her_. I cannot die. Her mother won't let me. Do you hear me, Sakura?" The man stood and titled his head back screaming. "You have cursed me to stay here with our treasure...but _my _treasure is so painfully far away from me! Is that what you wanted?"

Gaara shook his head and face Naruto. "She urges me to stay yet."

"As any mother would."

"As any wretch would you mean!" cried Gaara desperately. His eyes were wide and wet and his chest heaved in an effort to compose himself.

"You are mad, Gaara."

"And it is no wonder! She leaves me here and will not let me die because her every word was my command and she begged me to take care of our daughter. I long for her and that selfish witch left me here to suffer alone. I cannot bear it!"

"Stop this nonsense instantly!" yelled Naruto, "I will not hear you slander her so much."

There was much more of this same dialogue and interruptions on Naruto's part before the sand-nin had calmed considerably. "I cannot decide whether I love or hate that woman. I know that I love her and I know my hate is mere desperation. But still...how long do I have to wait, Haruno Sakura?"

There was quiet, finally, after the chaos. Naruto turned his back to Gaara, preparing to leave for Suna again. He was worried about Takara.

"Takara will be waiting for you." He was gone.

Gaara stared at the piece of stone in front of him, the ever-constant reminder of what he had lost. The snow had stopped now and everything was a perpetually frozen wasteland of death and memories.

"Must I witness another Desert Rose wilt before I am released from this burden of living...Sakura?"


	14. A Mother's Heartbreak

Orochimaru watched the sand-nin as he stared blankly ahead of him. He knew that Gaara had been to Sakura's grave and attributed his newest wave of melancholy to that.

At that moment, Kabuto waltzed into the room and saw the perfect opportunity to torment Gaara without risking his well being to do it. "Takara seems to be responding to the 'treatment' just fine, Orochimaru-sama," practically screaming it for Gaara's benefit. The dejected father made no movement much to the villain's disappointment.

"Shut up, Kabuto," was all Orochimaru bothered responding with.

The three men stood in the eerie silence. Gaara realized full well that the other two were staring him down to see how he would respond to (what they thought) was news to him about his daughter.

Gaara turned to face them. His eyes were terrible to behold. "I do not know why you have found a special interest in Takara, Orochimaru. However, I warn you that I will not tolerate any more advances on your part towards bringing her hence. I will kill her myself if that is the price of sparing her a life of servitude under your malignant control."

They were more words than Gaara had said in a very long time and Orochimaru waxed cross at his speech. "Do not speak to me as if you were master of this palace. I will do with your daughter as I see fit."

Gaara narrowed his eyes angrily. "You have no reason to pursue her. She is not as strong as all that."

"Do not talk as if I knew nothing! Everyone fears the Hidden Village of Sand for the very reason that she is their Kazekage. She is the strongest shinobi alive--and only seventeen! You certainly cannot blame me for my interest in her."

Kabuto grinned evilly. "And she _is_ a pretty thing after all...she has _Sakura's _eyes..."

_Crack!_

Kabuto was sent reeling back clutching his jaw. Gaara stood before him, a few drops of blood dripping from his right fist. Orochimaru sensed a very different man in Gaara and advanced towards him.

"You shouldn't be so hasty, Gaara."

The sand-nin's eyes were wild and he turned to face Orochimaru with all the desperation that only a doomed father could have. His hands came together.

"Desert Tidal Wave!"

Sand rushed for Orochimaru who blew it off with a blast of chakra and advanced towards the raging Gaara.

"Calm yourself."

Gaara went to form another seal but suddenly Orochimaru's snake-like tongue was wrapped about his throat and Kabuto, who had regained his compusure in spite of a wound to his pride, had grasped the man's arms.

Orochimaru drew himself towards Gaara's ear and was somehow able to hiss into it though his tongue was about the throat. "I was waiting for this impertinence on your part so that I could work myself up enough to kill you. You have lost all usefulness to me since you visited your daughter last week. Yes, my goal, since I killed your wife, was to claim Takara for I sensed her special abilities even before she was born. Now, despair in the fact that she will always serve me and die!"

A sword flashed from Orochimaru's mouth and with a strike faster than lightning, he had pierced the heart of Sabaku no Gaara. There were a few moments of stunned silence before Gaara's eyes glazed over and the beating of his shredded heart ceased completely. (Though gurgling with blood, Kabuto did make out the final word "Sakura" from the man's mouth just before he died.)

Kabuto and Orochimaru drew back and let the corpse fall to the floor. "Call one of the underlings to take care of that filth. We have important matters to see to." Orochimaru gave one final look of disgust at the dead body-who oddly enough had the faintest hint of a smile on his face-and left the room.

--

Takara let out a pained cry as she awoke her bed. Three days of illness had all but destroyed her body. Everything ached. It was if she had done nothing except fall in a pit of rocks over and over again and then slept on the bruises.

Ren was sitting by the bedside, gazing at her intently. Worry etched itself in his strong facial features, though he concealed as much as possible from the weak Takara. He gently helped her sit up and retreated back to his seat, too agonized by her change of appearance to say anything to her at all. He simply gaped.

How could three days do so much to the strong Kazekage?

Takara forced herself to plant her feet on the floor and stand. She gruffly shoved off Ren as he attempted to help her. Her eyes were staring out the open window where the sun was in late morning.

"How long have I been asleep?"

Ren shook himself from his reverie and replied, "Three days."

The girl blanched. Three days? How much had Kabuto and Orochimaru done in three days while she writhed on the edge of consciousness? "Has anything happened?"

"No, Takara. Nothing…"

"Kazekage-sama."

Ren blinked. "What?"

"Call me by my title, please."

Ren said nothing. Takara gazed at him with expressionless eyes. "If that's a problem…"

"It isn't…Kazekage-sama."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Takara motioned Ren away. He left dejectedly wondering what change had caused this behavior in his friend.

Takara watched some desert birds fly past her open window. She felt empty and devoid of…everything.

My mother. She felt this way…she died this way. What has caused this? I did not lose someone I love. I did not suffer any tragedy. Why?

Why do I feel like dying?

--

"I gave Takara Sakura's broken heart."

Kabuto listened intently as Orochimaru described the method he had used to gain control of Takara's mind.

"It was an experiment…and it worked rather successfully. Sakura was dying from a broken heart. So I took that pain and suffering and put it into her daughter before she was born. When you secretly used that jutsu of yours to release the seal that held it, she was struck down with the same pain. It will take a couple of days before she becomes too weak to resist me anymore and I will take her as my vessel."

"Is there any way to stop this illness?"

"Takara would have to stop it herself…and to do that she must see it for what it is. That's impossible…she would never guess that I—in a sense—transplanted her mother's heart into her. It's a ridiculous idea, after all."

Kabuto smiled. They needed two more days before they could get the ailing Kazekage for their purposes.

--

"Gaara…"

_The man turned and saw a lovely woman with pale skin, green eyes, and pink hair. She was smiling, but the smile was overclouded with sadness. _

_Sakura._

_She looked at him wonderingly. "How did you…?"_

"_Orochimaru killed me."_

_She blanched. "You went to him then…"  
_

_Gaara stared at the ground unable to look Sakura in the eye. _

"_And Takara…?"_

"_Naruto raised her, took care of her. But Orochimaru has hurt her somehow. I don't know…"_

"_Why didn't you stay with her?"_

"_I couldn't…"_

Sakura shook her head. "And I was the weak one, was I Gaara?"

_Gaara waxed cross at this. "You survived for one year. I survived seventeen. At least I could do that much."_

"_Were you a part of her life?"_

"_No…"_

"_Then it was worthless. You should have just died earlier." Sakura's voice was filled with venom. _

"_Sakura-"_

"_I begged you to take care of our daughter. But you…abandoned her. She is suffering right now from the same pain that both of us suffered from. Are you happy with that? Is that what you wanted?"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Orochimaru. He has used one of his diabolical deeds to hurt our daughter. You could have stopped it. The only cure for Takara now is the love of her family and friends. She has pushed her only friend away and now the only living member of her family is dead. What option does she have?"_

"_Takara is strong."_

"_Takara is human. She can't survive that long with what she has."_

_Gaara looked away. "If I could I would go see her."_

"_Ghostly visits are not recommended around here. I doubt she will take you seriously. But you will be allowed one chance. One. If that fails, then our daughter will join us and Orochimaru will have his prize."_

_Gaara shook his head. "That is one thing…that Takara will never allow."_

"_Let us hope."_


	15. Reblooming

Gaara knelt beside Takara's bedside; a tenderness he had never shown her in life was etched in his face. He had never realized how beautiful she was...so like Sakura. He reached out to stroke her forehead and was disappointed to see it slip right through her. He was a ghost after all.

_So many wasted years._

The man was astonished at the aged look that had overtaken Takara's face. He didn't want to see her eyes--he couldn't imagine how _they_ were altered. Her face was pale and there was sweat beading on her brow with her hair clinging damply to her pillow. Gaara noticed that tearstains were imprinted on her cheeks. _She cried herself to sleep_.

Closing his eyes, Gaara allowed himself to slip in Takara's dream.

_There was a field full of wilted flowers; the grass was brown and decaying. Clouds covered the sky and a harsh wind blew across the landscape. Gaara saw Takara sitting on a lone rock, wilted flowers in her hair and a dark unflattering garment flapped about in the wind. He strode over._

_"Takara."_

_She didn't even glance at him. "He killed you, didn't he?"_

_"No. I was dead long before he cut my throat." There was a pause._

_"Why did you come?"_

_"I was wrong, Takara. I should never have left you. I should never have gone back to Orochimaru. Forgive me..."_

_"You came to apologize?"_

_Gaara came to her and took her hand. This time it did not pass through her body._

_"I came to bring someone to heal you."_

_Both turned to see a lovely woman with pink hair and green eyes with pale, china skin. Her face was kindly as she came to husband and daughter._

_"Hello, Takara."_

_Takara looked at her with wondering eyes. "Mother..."_

_Sakura smiled. Takara frowned a little bit. "How could you possibly...?"_

_"I am a healer, dearest. I spent my whole life in that art. You're my daughter and I'm going to help you." Sakura pause and smiled at the necklace on the girl's neck. "Who gave that to you?"_

_Takara glanced down. "Oh, Ren did. It was a present..."_

_"What a present to give."_

_The girl looked at her mother questioningly. "What did he give me exactly?"_

_Sakura knelt down and held the emerald that was set in its silver chain. "It's a charm of sorts. You see, Ren poured some of his own life energy into this. Judging by the luster of the emerald, I would say he placed ten years of his own life into the stone. If a healer unlocks it, the life energy flows into you. It's an old form of healing that I learned about under the Godaime."_

_Takara looked stricken. "But...that means..."_

_"Yes, Ren will have ten years less than he would have had."_

_"I won't take it."_

_"The process is irreversible, my dear. You either take the life energy or it goes to waste. It can't go back to its original container. It's really curious actually," Sakura, mused, "I didn't think there were any gem healers left in the shinobi world. Apparently, some still reside in the Sand."_

_Takara looked at the emerald. Green for her eyes, Ren had said. She had been so horrible to him. _

_"I'm going to remove Orochimaru's curse, Takara. In your malady, however, you have lost years of your life...years that you wouldn't be able to get back except for the fact that Ren made that charm for you. I'll unlock the stone and you will have some of those years."_

_Takara stared at the emerald, haunted by its beauty and horrified at what it contained. _

_"Takara." She glanced up to see her father looking at her. "Don't let Ren's sacrifice go for naught. Stop being the proud Kazekage and let someone help you." Gaara paused, his face melancholy. "Don't allow despair to eat at you forever. Whether Orochimaru or your own self-hate causes it, the despair will kill you. Bitterness and hate are not worth dying over. If you learn nothing else from me, learn that."_

_Takara nodded slowly. "Alright...do what you need to, Mother."_

_Sakura smiled and placed her hands on the sides of Takara's head._

--

Takara awoke to a bright sunrise and the gorgeous morning song of a desert bird. The wind wafted in the scent of the jasmine that grew outside her window--it was spicy and pungent and completely satisfying. Beams of sunlight danced about her room as they were refracted in the glass of her casements. It was one of those mornings where you are comfortable just relaxing in the bed clothes and listening to the wind ruffling your curtains, the type of morning that would most certainly herald a beautiful day.

A soft knock sounded at her door. "Come in."

Ren slipped into the room. "Kazekage-sama...?"

"Ren!"

Takara leapt from her comfortable bedding to the arms of her best friend. She hugged him for a good minute and then pulled away looking at him happily. He was surprised at first and then grinned back at her. Takara noticed a fine gray hair that had not been there the day before. She stroked it gently.

"You used the necklace then."

"My mother...in a dream..."

"I know."

"You did?"

"Yes. Your most worthy mother visited my dreams last night too. She asked for permission to use the necklace. I said that whatever could be used to cure our Kazekage was at her disposal."

"Oh, Ren! I have been such a beast to you...a horrid, unthankful creature. Can you ever forgive--" She was silenced by a swift kiss that Ren planted on her now pink lips. He pulled away and smiled at the astonished expression on the Kazekage's face. "Yes, I forgive you, Takara."

Takara broke into a wide grin and soared to the door. "I must eat...and then I must train. There is still an enemy in the shinobi world that I must fight."

"I'm fighting with you."

"Ren...I'm the Kazekage. I should be the one to..."

"No arguments, my love. I'm coming with and you might as well accept it."

Takara sighed, pretending to be exasperated. "Well, if you must be stubborn as usual, then I suppose I have no choice in the matter."

"Pretty much."

Both descended the stairs of the mansion, chattering away. Naruto heard the commotion and stared in shock. "That _isn't_ Takara talking on like that? It's a miracle...Ren must have finally gotten through to her." He walked away, satisfied at the present situation and the startling recovery of the Kazekage.

--

Orochimaru and Kabuto arrived on the borders of Sunagakure disguised as two wandering travelers. They were happy to see that their presence went undetected. It was still high noon. They would wait until dark before they headed for the Kazekage's mansion. For now, they would explore and figure out the best way to sneak Takara—or rather her corpse—out of the city. Orochimaru could hardly contain himself. The beautiful and powerful Kazekage of Suna would soon be his new vessel…and with it all the special abilities and youth it contained. Sasuke was _nothing _compared to Takara. The aged movement of Orochimaru was enough to show that his older body was becoming more and more decrepit. He would meet his match with death if he did not switch quickly.

Ren was walking the city, having left Takara to her training an hour earlier. The pair had fought until Ren was exhausted before breaking. Takara, however, wanted to continue (she had far more stamina than her friend) and he had wished her luck as he went for a stroll.

Suddenly, he bumped into an odd looking man with black hair who wore a wide brimmed hat and blue cloak. A companion similarly dressed stood next to him. "Excuse me…I didn't see you."

The man looked up. Odd colored eyes stared back at Ren sending shivers down his spine.

"No worries, young man. I wasn't paying attention." The comrade nodded in agreement.

Ren looked back and forth between the two men uneasily. He felt like a cold hand was clutching his heart and stealing the breath from him.

"You don't belong in the Sand Village."

--

Takara finished her training. Her red hair blew in the breeze as she stretched out and gazed at the cloudless sky. A hawk circled just above her giving its high, mournful call.

_Takara._

The Kazekage started and looked about. Another breeze grazed her cheek.

_Takara._

It sounded like her father. Where was the voice coming from? The wind grew wilder.

_He's coming Takara…Orochimaru…_

The girl froze.

_Go to Ren, lovely Desert Rose, but take care. One more tragedy must happen before you defeat your greatest enemy._

Takara turned, slightly dazed, and sprinted towards the heart of Suna. One more tragedy…what else could possibly happen to her?


	16. The End

Takara was laying on the sand dune, gasping for breath, blood dripping from the horrible wound in her abdomen. Ren bent over her, his eyes terrified, knowing that she could not recover.

It had all happened too fast.

--

Ren eyed the two strangers with a suspicious look. "Who are you?"

The man with the frightening eyes smiled. "Looks like we didn't get in unsuspected, eh Kabuto?"

_Kabuto._

Ren had heard that name before. Takara had spoken of him – a minion of Orochimaru's. That could only mean… "Orochimaru…"

"The boy is quick." Orochimaru's tone was venomous. "Well, it looks like we won't be getting in quietly."

Orochimaru and his sidekick quickly shed their robes and stood facing Ren. Ren had already poised himself in a fighting stance, waiting for an attack. He had to get to the Kazekage. It was the only way to protect everyone else in the village. Takara was stronger than he was…she would be able to fight them.

I have to try… 

He didn't stand a chance.

Orochimaru, in one instantaneous motion, produced a sword and went straight for Ren's heart. Ren went crashing backwards.

Blood was everywhere.

Gasp 

The gasp was Ren's, but the reaction was shock…not pain.

Takara had fallen on top of Ren, the sword sticking out of her stomach. She didn't even scream.

Ren was at her side so fast; the two men who had attacked them didn't even do anything. Orochimaru simply stared at the wounded Kazekage. He had just ruined his new vessel…she could never be of any use to him now. Anger burned in the snake's purple-rimmed eyes.

He didn't notice that Takara's hands had been moving. Suddenly, a giant pit opened under him and Kabuto. Sand crashed anywhere, and the two were instantly buried.

--

Ren continued to stare in horror at Takara and found himself dumb. Unable to speak, he simply gazed at her helplessly.

Takara's hands were moving again. She placed them over her stomach and closed her eyes. Her closed eyes seemed to loose Ren's lips.

"Takara! No…you can't! Get up! Get up now-."

"Calm down, Ren."

Her voice – that beautiful, gorgeous voice – was talking. His eyes went from pure horror to absolute joy. "Takara?"

"Yes, I'm fine. You didn't think after you made this sacrifice," here Takara gestured to the emerald necklace about her throat, "that I would die so easily? I am the daughter of one of the greatest medics in history. A simple stab wound won't take me out. Now then," Takara rose, "to take care of these insolent men."

Just as she said that, there was an explosion and the sand that had buried Kabuto and Orochimaru was blasted into the air and far away. The two ninja stood there, facing the Kazekage and Ren with pure hatred in their eyes. There was, however, a sort of perverse joy in Orochimaru's glance. Takara wasn't ruined after all! He could still use her…

"If you think I'll consent to being your vessel, Orochimaru, you're sadly mistaken."

The two men scoffed and prepared to attack. Then cried out in surprise. "What the devil…?"

"I didn't just bury you two clowns in the sand, you know." Takara smirked, quite satisfied with herself. "There are many things you don't know about me. Like the fact that became fairly competent in all the bloodline limits of the now extinct clans of Konoha. One of those being the precious Hyuuga power to see tenketsus and block with them with powerful blows of chakra. I simply use sand as my medium." Here Takara smiled wickedly again. "This, of course, you'll recognize from none other than Uzumaki Naruto."

Takara formed seal at a dizzying speed. Then, drawing back and gathering the chakra into her hands, a ball of energy appeared. Lightning flashed in the center of it and turned almost black.

"Lightning Ransengan!"

There was a horrific crash.

After the smoke cleared, Ren gaped in astonishment. There were no corpses. She had vaporized them…he turned to look at her.

Takara stood there, triumphant, with her beautiful red hair burnt an ever-brighter red by the setting desert sun. He could almost see two other figures standing next to her in the dusk…one man with short red hair and green eyes and the other a woman with pink hair and emerald eyes. The similar eyes of all three family members gazed victoriously over the location of defeat of their greatest enemy. Takara had won the battle that her parents had lost.

They were proud of her.

Takara turned to look at Ren and grinned cheerfully. "Didn't even have to use all my chakra," she said winking.

--

Ren and Takara learned that Orochimaru and Kabuto had killed Naruto as they entered Suna, before Ren had stumbled upon them. Ren would have shared the same fate had Takara not rescued him in time. This was the one tragedy that Gaara's foreboding voice spoke of to the Kazekage.

I guess you could say Ren and Takara lived happily ever after, but there really is no such thing as happily ever after. They did end up married with children, each having emerald eyes like their mother and great fore sires. Yet, there were always new enemies to conquer in the shinobi world. The family endured several hardships but also won many victories and from this family came the race that rebuilt the Hidden Village of the Leaf in the Fire Country. This Village became a leader in the healing arts, but was also filled with very powerful warriors with tremendous chakra control and fighting spirit.

The first Hokage of new Konoha would be Takara's daughter Sakura.

Her story and history remains to be seen.

Be comforted, weary reader, in knowing this. In Takara's line, there will always be a blooming Desert Rose to succeed the wilting one.

The End.

--

**Author's Note:**

**I hope you enjoyed reading "Desert Rose". I am proud to name it my greatest accomplishment in fan fiction writing. Thank you to all those who read my story and supplied their critique from beginning to end. Special thanks to Heart's Door with her very helpful and sincere comments. **

**Arigatou to you all**

**Manwaithiel**

**(Be sure to check out my newest project, "The Power and Love of the Kazekage")**


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